Edge of the Kunai
by Hecate's Slumber
Summary: The life of a ninja is one seeped in death. They are merciless shadows, and survival is everything. Enter a reimagining where bonds become stronger, Naruto becomes smarter, Sasuke experiences human companionship amidst death, and Sakura becomes strong enough to stand on equal footing with the boys, physically and emotionally, and Team 7 becomes a real team.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of its characters. I am not profiting off of this fanfiction. **

**A/N: Hey, I'm Rox, or Hecate's Slumber. This is my first fanfiction. I wanted to reimagine this series, especially Sakura. For me, Sakura's character seems flat, and she never actually does seem to truly catch up to the boys. I also want to change the ninja world a little and focus on how traumatizing the life of a ninja would actually be. However, I still want to keep friendships strong in this piece. I want Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's friendship to be real and to be strong. Be harsh in your criticisms please! Also, I don't have a beta, and I'm not really sure how they function but if you want to beta, let me know? Otherwise, I'm fine editing this on my own.**

**Hope you enjoy it! Please let me know if you would like to see more!**

_Prologue_

_You. Your hands will be bloodied. Smell the putrefaction. This is the scent of your glory. You are a shadow. Faceless. Expendable. You will die. Even legends fall._

Midnight clung to the nearly abandoned academy. Paper seals lit a single room not quite vacant room in a dull yellow. Three figures. The blond boy glared at the doorway. Cerulean blue eyes remained harsh. Inside, however, he was dejected. All of his classmates' senseis had already arrived, except for his team's. This was another one of the village's cruel schemes against him, he mused. Why did they hate him so much? He sighed and collapsed his head into his orange clad arms. Lowest scores. Loser. Bottom of the ladder. Dead on the ninja food chain. The taunts of his classmates tunneled through his exhausted brain. If he could not be a ninja, how could he ever prove anyone wrong? Hell, how did he even plan to pay next month's rent?

Black eyes stared out the window towards Konoha. Hours. Hours trapped in a room with the stupid blond boy and the fangirl. It was enough to send him spiraling to the brink of madness. Reprimanding the girl got her to shut up. As for the dobe, he eventually fell into a silence. Sasuke had not even known silence was possible for the blond. Yet, Sasuke noticed that the other boy, like himself, looked pissed off. External anger masked his internal anxieties. Did his sensei already rule them out? Was he too weak to even be a genin? No. He was the head of the class. Best at everything. He pursed his lips. Why did his sensei not show up? He eyed his teammates: the idiot Uzumaki and the clingy, pink-haired brat. Neither of them were worthy to call themselves ninja. Weak. Worthless. But surely he, the prodigy, the last loyal Uchiha, deserved that title? He glared angrily from Naruto to Sakura. These idiots had already compromised his training. They were already preventing him from reaching his goal. Sasuke grit his teeth.

The girl in the room had pretended to fall asleep. She did not want to return home and be the uncommitted teammate. They already thought she was a mockery of a ninja anyway…or at least Sasuke did. When he spoke to her earlier, he had made that clear. Long pink hair draped over her thin arms. Images of dancing through brightly colored fields in the arms of a strong, loving man flitted behind her eyelids. He was quiet. He understood her without having to speak an endless stream of empty promises and words with broken meanings. A tiny smile tugged on her lips. Her life previous to this point had been relatively simple. She was still shier than her best friend and rival, Ino. Yet, her parents loved her, and people in general tolerated her. She was the smartest, book-wise, in her class. According to herself, she had the best chance to become the best kunoichi in her class due to her intelligence. Quiet. She craved it. She craved to shut up all the artificial voices screaming in her head and pointing at her madly uttering clichés and generalization. Nobody really knew her for her; Sakura epitomized a fangirl to most. Outside of the label, she did not know if she knew herself. Outside of a goal for Sasuke's heart, outside of her rivalry with Ino, who was Haruno Sakura? Maybe she was just a generalization made lucid.

Wind. Massive torrents of wind flew in through the suddenly open windows. The room started to quake. The lights went out. Sakura jolted out of her "sleep", screamed and clutched her head in her hands. Around her, all she could hear were the wind chimes outside clanging against each other in a disharmonic chaos.

Sasuke lifted a kunai from his thigh holster. His eyes glanced the dark room. When and how did the windows open?

Naruto's eyes wildly scanned the room. "Sakura-chan! Are you okay?" His loud voice barely pierced the wind chimes.

She opened her mouth to answer when a figure clad in all black appeared before her. Long black pants tucked into black boots with a black long-sleeved shirt. A black mask obscured the majority of the man's face. A lone dark eye blazed wildly in the moonlight. A leaf forehead protector alerted the three of his status as a native ninja. The wind ceased and the chimes gradually returned to their idle positions

"W-Who are you?" Sakura whispered. A few of the chimes flurried in the natural breeze.

The bottom of the mask twisted, revealing the outline of lips forming a smirk.

The man stalked to the front of the room and turned to face the three. "Hatake Kakashi. You pathetic lot may or may not become my genin, if you impress me."

"What!? We already took the graduation exam! We're already genin! You can't just take that from us after we've waited here for hours for you!" Naruto hollered. This was unfair. Naruto clenched his fists.

"Dobe is right. You got here twelve hours late." Sasuke spoke with detached agitation despite being relieved that he did in fact have a sensei, at least for the time being.

"Yeah! Twelve hours!" Naruto practically screamed. His frustration dominated his tone.

"Baka! He is our sensei! Shut up!" Sakura readied her fist.

"No fair, Sakura-chan! You didn't yell at Sasuke!"

"Because Sasuke-kun didn't scream at our new sensei!" She kept with the charade of a Sasuke fangirl because what else was Sakura supposed to do?

Kakashi analyzed the team in front of him. He had read their reports. The last Uchiha and the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. The last Uchiha's scores made him the rookie of the year. He was the strongest in his class by a wide margin, and that vengeance of his, Kakashi predicted, would propel him to train hard. As for Naruto, despite the boy's dismal scores at the academy, Kakashi knew that Minato's son had potential. As a jinchuriki, Naruto already held more power than most people could ever hope to hold in their lifetimes. Kakashi just had to teach Naruto how to harness this power. The Uchiha and the jinchuriki would make deadly weapons, Kakashi was sure.

The girl, however, was useless. Book-smart, perhaps, but weak and entirely uninteresting in potential. So she could memorize history dates. That would do her no good once her porcelain white throat bled out alone in the forest. Kakashi wondered if he could perhaps swap the pink-haired civilian girl for the Hyuuga girl or the Yamanaka girl as both held interesting clan abilities at the very least.

Kakashi sighed and turned his attention to his bickering students. "Tonight, I have a test for you three. If you pass, I will take you as my students. If you do not pass, you will be sent back to the academy." Silence. Kakashi analyzed their faces. Sasuke frowned, but his fists clenched. Naruto's eyes were wide with childish optimism. Sakura bit her lip and glanced from Sasuke to Naruto. "None of the graduates that I have tested have ever passed this test." There was a reason that Kakashi was assigned to be the sensei of Team Seven, and there was a reason why this specific team had to prove itself beyond other genin teams. Team Seven would always be given the deadliest, most politically corrupt missions of all the genin teams. The title of Team Seven belonged to legendary teams. Team Seven was historically reserved for battlefield demons such as the Sannin as well his own team, led by the Yondaime. Kakashi had to weed out the playtime, idealistic ninjas from the killers.

"What!? Why!? Why do we have to take another test! I thought we were done!" Naruto whined.

"Shut up, baka! Of course, Kakashi-sensei! Any test you give us, I am sure that Sasuke-kun and I will do well on!" She blushed, giggled, and snuck a quick glance at Sasuke that did not go unnoticed by Kakashi.

"This is a test of your abilities to survive. Tomorrow at five in the morning, you will meet me at the edge of the forest outside of the city. You will bring any weapons you see fit. Don't eat breakfast, if you don't want to puke. That is…if you even want to show up."

"Of course we'll show up! We didn't spend years at the academy for nothing! Right teme!?" Naruto screeched whilst point at Sasuke.

"Dobe." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning an expressionless face to Kakashi. "We will show up."

"If Sasuke-kun says we can do it, we can definitely do it." Sakura smiled up at her sensei.

Sasuke sighed. He brought his hands up to his hair.

"So what is this test, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Classified. But I want all of you to think about this. Do you really want to take the life of a ninja? Do you really have what it take-?"

"Hell yeah! I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!" Naruto interrupted.

"I was born to be a ninja. My life purpose is to kill a certain someone. You will not dissuade me." Sasuke spoke whilst glaring at Kakashi.

Kakashi laughed. "Very unlikely goals. To become a legend, and to kill a legend. I'd have to make legends of you both." He planned to anyways. The potential of these two, if they could pass his test, was immense. He turned his eye to the girl. "And you? What lofty goal do you have that can harden your heart to take up kunai?"

Sakura bit her lip. She thought of Sasuke. But, it seemed…such an empty goal next to the other's goals. It definitely was not a goal worth dying for. Right? She thought of Ino. Ino had to uphold her family's honor. That is why she was a ninja. Sakura, however, was civilian born. As a child, she just thought that becoming a ninja would be really cool, just like being a princess would be. On a whim, she ended up at the academy. "I…I just want to serve my village."

Kakashi said nothing.

"Great goal, Sakura-chan!" Naruto bellowed. He flashed a wide smile at her.

"Dismissed. I'll see you three in five hours."

The three hopeful genin prepared to leave.

"Girl. Stay." Kakashi watched Sakura.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei" Sakura replied.

The boys glanced from Sakura to their teacher but both longed to get in some sleep before the test tomorrow.

"I bet I can run faster out of the academy than you can, teme"

"As if, dobe."

"Wanna bet?" Naruto glared.

"Give it your best shot, loser" Sasuke taunted.

The two ran off.

Kakashi stared down at the tiny genin girl. The academy seemed even quieter and more dismal with Naruto and Sasuke's absences. "You should not show up tomorrow." Like Rin, like Obito, those who were not strong died.

"What?" She blinked. Had her sensei just…disowned her?

"You are not suited for the life of a ninja. Maybe you could be a medic ninja working at the hospital. Your chakra control is reportedly good. I could introduce you to one of the women working there, and you could start training. It is far more suited for you. This team is meant to be on the frontlines. You will only hinder Sasuke and Naruto. I may ask for a replacement genin to take your position. This is for the best, Sakura. You have no reason to die." His mind flashed to Rin. She should have never been on the frontlines. It was not strategic to place a medic on a frontlines team. They belonged in the back. Once the battle was over, they could surface. Only Tsunade of the Sannin could fight as a medical ninja on the frontlines.

Sakura blinked again. She could feel tears prickling the corners of her viridian eyes. A couple of the tears trickled down the smooth, pale skin of her cheeks and met her artificially glossy lips. She had applied a healthy dose of lip gloss that morning in an attempt to look beautiful for Sasuke. "I…I am not good enough to be on Sasuke-kun's team?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her. She was just a young girl, yet her entire existence seemed to be defined as the pursuit of a boy. "No, Sakura. You are not. You do not have the natural potential to be. But you could be a promising medic."

The tears came harder. Everything she had obsessed over for the past couple of years came crashing down upon her. Ino's voice met her ears _"You're weak, Sakura. Why would Sasuke ever go for you over me? Especially with that stupid, ugly forehead of yours." _"No."

"Pardon?"

Sakura clenched her fists. "No." At the moment, Sasuke was her only goal. As flimsy of a goal as that may be, she could not give it up. She could not let Ino or the girls that had teased her throughout her academy years win. She would not let people define what she could and could not do anymore. She could picture her inner self smashing down upon all of her enemies. Sakura knew that she needed a goal outside of Sasuke. For the moment, that goal became thundering everything she had into proving her sensei wrong. "I said no. I don't want to be a medic ninja. I want to fight on the frontlines with Sasuke-kun and Naruto. With my team. I'm showing up for the test tomorrow." She huffed and spun on her heel, intent on marching back to her home and her warm bed.

"Sakura, if this is about Sasuke…it's a stupid reason to die." Kakashi's voice caused her to abruptly halt.

She turned over her shoulder and observed Kakashi under a thin layer of pink hair. Green, teary eyes burned through the strands of hair. "I may like Sasuke. But in case you haven't noticed, I'm an actual person, and maybe I do things for myself and not for Sasuke sometimes." She left the academy.

Kakashi sighed at her retreating figure. One new dead kunoichi.


	2. Part I: The Forge, Chapter I

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of its characters. I am not profiting off of this fanfiction.**

**A/N: Thanks so much for the favorites, follows, reviews, etcetera! Here's another chapter for you all. Usually, I will try to update weekly, sometimes biweekly if I don't have much time. Addressing concerns, I do not plan on nerfing Naruto or Sasuke nor giving Sakura a random power-up. Instead, I'm going to try to work with her base abilities in canon and take them down a new direction. She probably (I don't have everything planned out) will not have the raw, impressive, endless power that endgame Sasuke and Naruto have, however this does not mean that she can't be just as effective in a fight. As a female, 110 pound fighter myself, it is impossible for me to match the strength of men much bigger than me, but I can still win fights against them. You just have to fight differently. This is how Sakura will prosper as well. She'll have to fight much differently than the boys do, and she'll have to have a shit ton of willpower. **

**Also, I'm working on writing these voices! Never wrote these characters before. Hopefully, I'll keep improving. Let me know what you think! **

_Part I: The Forge, Chapter I_

_Trust me, it will drive each and every one of you mad._

The wooden rafters creaked with a forceful sway of the wind. They needed repairs. Everything in that cursed house needed repairs. Dust cluttered the rusted floorboards. Broken glass. Torn sheets. The village had offered to clean the house for him, but he had refused. Uchiha Sasuke sat on the floor of the main house in the Uchiha Compound. He closed his eyes, and he could almost hear the voices in the wind. Okaa-san's lullaby stretched the silence. Otou-san's stern voice reprimanding Shisui for something foolish the boy had done. The village had offered Sasuke medication to ease the pain, but he had refused. He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face against his legs. He was closer.

But he was still too far. Itachi had already become an ANBU by age thirteen. Sasuke hated himself. As much as they called him a prodigy, he was only an Uchiha. A mediocre Uchiha. Nothing like Itachi. He stood up and with practiced expertise, sidestepped all of the tiny shards of broken glass across the main room to his bedroom. Wind blew his dark hair about his face as he listened to the voices. He could almost feel his mother embrace him as a gust of wind burst forth from the deprecated building. His own room was different than the rest of the house. Clean. Meticulously dustless. Obsessively polished. He laid down on the blank white bed and stared up at the ceiling. The hatred within him mixed with the despair. In the end, all he could feel was numbness. He would kill his brother, but after? He claimed that he would restore his clan. But with who? All the girls in the village were insufficient. Weak. Selfish. Annoying. Sasuke wondered what the void felt like. Killing Itachi would bring his family justice, but would it ever bring him happiness? Yes, Sasuke thought, but part of him recognized that happiness would be impossible. All of his human bonds had disintegrated into ash. Nobody understood. Nobody could understand. The village had offered him therapy, but he had refused.

The madness would eventually take hold of him. He welcomed its embrace. The bloodlust…he willed it to come so that he could stop being pathetically mediocre. He hated weakness.

Rummaging through the fridge proved futile. Nothing. He had ran out of ramen as well. He groaned in agitation. He only had a couple of hours to sleep, and he needed food! Waiting for your sensei for twelve hours kind of made you hungry. Uzumaki Naruto ran a hand through his unkempt hair. It looked like he would not be able to eat that night. He backed away from the fridge and glanced at the tiny overrun table in his apartment. It was littered with his kunai, dirty dishes, dirty laundry, and a daunting pile of papers. He walked over and scratched his leg with his foot as he read the bills. He was months overdue on rent. Naruto sighed. He would be homeless again soon.

He shook his head. "No way, no way is Uzumaki Naruto the next Hokage going to become homeless, believe it!" He declared sleepily to a room filled with…no one. Naruto sighed and placed the bills down. He walked into the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the cheap, plastic mirror. He wanted to be Hokage, and he wanted to be respected. He believed he could be. Repeating the mantra over and over again in his head, he smiled at his reflection. He could totally be Hokage! Part of Naruto recognized that his optimism was primarily therapeutic. Part of Naruto recognized that he was the loser, deadlast that everyone in the academy mocked. Part of Naruto wondered if he ever could be strong enough to be Hokage, and if he did get strong enough, would the village ever like him enough to let him lead them. He turned on the sink and splashed cold water onto his face.

Naruto had tried overenthusiastically to make friends, but nobody wanted to befriend him. He turned off the sink and stared at his reflection. What was wrong with him? The harsh glances and angry whispers of the villagers tugged at his memory. He had grown up alone. As soon as he could make instant ramen, he ran away from the orphanage and never returned. Apparently, they did not care enough to chase after him.

He left the bathroom, ignored his stomach's painful twisting, and hopped into bed. He would make genin tomorrow. He had to. Somehow, they all would respect him.

Her mother sat at the table with stern eyes. "Why are you getting home just now? What happened?" Her kitchen, even in the late hours of night, seemed picturesque with its light cream-colored walls, clean white tiles, and sleek mahogany cabinets with glass on the doors.

"My sensei showed up late. I am sorry, okaa-san" Sakura replied whilst half-bowing to her mother.

"This ninja business, Sakura. Don't you think it's time to stop playing this game? It's dangerous, and you have nothing to prove."

Sakura clenched her fists. "No, okaa-san. This is what I want to do."

"For that Uchiha kid?"

Sakura glanced down at her feet and shifted her weight. She tried hard to keep her tears at bay. "No, okaa-san. For me. Please let me do this."

"Fine. Go to bed then."

Sakura nodded and retreated to her room. With her current skills, she doubted that she could pull anything impressive out. Along with a small bed and a dresser, her room housed a bookcase with various romance novels, fantasy novels, and the like. At the bottom of the bookshelf, Sakura pulled out an old textbook filled with low-level jutsus. It was not much, but she had to try something. Sleep would not come that night anyway. She forced herself not to cry as she read through techniques.

Obsession. For most of her life, she had obsessively chased after Sasuke, despite acknowledging the reality that he probably would not care if she suddenly vanished. Of course she knew he cared nothing for her. Yet, in her mind she would craft endless stories that warped her reality into a fairytale. She chased Sasuke, not so much for Sasuke himself, but for him to act out the role she gave him in her mind. Strong, loving, protective, silent but devoted to her… Sakura understood obsession. Her pursuit of Sasuke had defined her among her peers. She would have to retrain her obsession. Instead of Sasuke, she would focus on getting stronger. Training would define her. It would become all she thought about, all she hoped for, all she craved and desired. She just needed to force the obsession on herself. Sakura's brain basked in obsession. Who was Haruno Sakura? She still did not know, but for awhile why did it really matter?

Mebuki stood and walked over to the window. She stared off into the night beyond. How do you tell a loved one that they can't? Mebuki pondered over her decision as she watched a Sakura tree swaying outside. "Please, please don't let my daughter die."

Five AM found two bloodshot, sleepless ninjas standing at the edge of the Konoha forest. The wind had died down from a few hours ago. However, the cold was still bitter.

Sakura had abandoned her usual outfit in favor of black nin-pants and a red shirt. She had her hair gathered up into a messy, tangled ponytail. No pretty lip-gloss or mascara adorned her face. She sat against a tree with her forehead pressed against her knees.

Sasuke had arrived shortly after Sakura.

She glanced up to him. "Hi, Sasuke-kun." Her voice was cheerful. Old obsessions die hard, and she had not quite rewired her focus yet.

He grunted at her and turned away to stare off into the forest. He wondered what his sensei could teach him. How effective would he become at being a killer?

Naruto arrived half an hour late. "I'm here! Did I miss anything?" He sprinted out of the gates and skidded to rough halt near his teammates.

Sasuke glared at him. "You're late, dobe."

Sakura frowned. Naruto, like her, had been told of what he could not do again and again. Yet, he still defied those expectations. She bit her lip. Maybe she could train with Naruto, and they both could improve. "Hi, Naruto. You didn't miss anything. Sensei is not here yet."

Naruto, who had been glaring at Sasuke, turned to face Sakura. "Thanks for telling me, Sakura-chan!" He glanced at his crush's new outfit and hairstyle. "I like the new look, Sakura-chan. You look all serious and awesome." Objectively, no, she did not look as good as she usually did, but Naruto understood that people needed encouragement. He wondered what Kakashi had asked her to stay after for.

"Baka, I didn't even brush my hair today. I'm wearing what I slept in." She rolled her eyes.

Naruto laughed. "Really!? Cause you always put a lot of work into how you look, especially when you're drooling over teme!" He half-screamed.

"Stop being so loud! You're giving me a migraine!" Sakura growled and buried her head farther into her knees as she hid the blush on her cheeks. Shame at fawning over Sasuke had arrived midway through the night after she had tasked herself with rearranging her obsessions.

Sasuke glanced from Naruto to Sakura and sighed. They had placed him on a really unfortunate team. Seriously Naruto and Sakura, the two most annoying people in his class, had to be his teammates? He just wanted silence.

Naruto's stomach growled loudly. "Oh man, I'm starving. Kakashi-sensei better get here soon so that I can eat."

Sasuke glanced to Naruto. Did the boy never know when to shut up? "Do you seriously think that he'll get here soon? He was twelve hours late yesterday."

"I can hope!"

"Baka" Sasuke replied.

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Te-"

"Does anyone want to spar with me?" Sakura interrupted. Green eyes glanced up, hopefully, to the boys. "Just taijutsu. I wouldn't want to waste too much chakra." She bit her lip and focused her eyes on Naruto. Sasuke would reject her request hands down, she thought.

"Don't you think you should save your energy for Kakashi's test?" Sasuke responded.

Sakura shook her head. "He'll probably be late again. He's already half an hour late. Just for fifteen minutes. Naruto…please?"

"Why are you asking the deadlast?" Sasuke's brows furrowed. He had thought that her invitation to spar had been another ploy to touch him or something, but now she wanted to spar with Naruto?

Naruto's eyes widened as he too was startled by the request. "Um, sure, Sakura-chan. Why though?"

The girl stood and smoothed out her black pants. "I just want to get stronger, and I know that you do too, so I thought maybe we could help each other." As she willed her obsession with training on, idle time became something she detested. Dawn started to climb over the horizon.

Naruto grinned. "Of course we can! We'll get so much stronger than Sasuke-teme, believe it!"

"Idiots." Sasuke shook his head at the two and turned his back.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at Sasuke's back and giggled with Naruto. Letting go of obsessively seeking Sasuke felt…good. Really good. She stood up and faced Naruto. "Okay, let's go!" She sent a precise but weak kick towards Naruto's chest. He blocked the kick with his forearms and sent a sloppy but powerful punch to her stomach. She twisted out of the way of the blow.

Sakura landed a decent jab to Naruto's shoulder to which he retaliated with a strong roundhouse kick that hit her square in the stomach. She stumbled back and wheezed but brought her arms up to block a flurry of punches Naruto sent at her. She dodged under one of his punches and landed an uppercut to his jaw. The taijutsu battle continued for awhile with Sakura hitting more frequently than Naruto but with substantially less power. Naruto then spun and landed a punch to Sakura's jaw that sent her sprawling towards the ground. She landed on her back in the dirt and coughed.

"Good fight, Sakura-chan!" Naruto offered his hand to help her up.

"Y-yeah. Good fight, Naruto." She took his hand with one hand and gingerly felt her jaw. Nothing was broken, but it still hurt. She got to her feet. She would have to train even harder than she expected to. She was weaker than Naruto who had almost failed his academy tests. Sakura sighed.

Sasuke watched the two with an annoyed expression. "That was pathetic."

"We tried our best, teme! Let's see you fight, huh? I can wipe the forest floor with your ass, I bet!"

"As if, loser." Sasuke turned away from his teammates. A slow rustle in the trees caught his attention. With eyes trained on the forest's edge, he caught a brief glimpse of steel. "Everybody get down!" He dropped to the dirt.

Sakura pulled Naruto down with her. Three kunai sliced through the air that the three hopeful genin had just occupied.

Extracting a kunai, Sasuke jumped to his feet. "Who are you!? Identify yourself!" he gruffly screamed out into the hazy light of dawn that just barely lit the forest.

A dark laugh followed. Sakura was frozen upon the ground with Naruto. She could see that even Sasuke was shaking as he held his weapon up.

A shadow moved inhumanely swiftly through the trees. In a second, Sasuke was unarmed and on his knees on the ground. A cloaked figure stood behind him. "Oh my cute, cute little student. Why did you hold a weapon up to your generous teacher?"

Sasuke snarled. "Why did you attack us!?"

"Simple reflex test. You passed. Congratulations." The man brought a hand up and removed his hood. Kakashi stepped away from Sasuke and glanced at the three. "Are you ready for your test?"

Naruto jumped to his feet. "Yeah we are!" The statement was empty in his own ears. His sensei had tried to kill them all. This…was not what Naruto expected. How terrible would this test be? He plastered an optimistic grin onto his face while he scanned their sensei in search of more sudden, unexpected hostility.

Sakura slowly stood. She glared at her sensei. This man. She hated him. He never gave her a chance and now he almost killed them all. He would have succeeded too, if Sasuke had not been paying attention. Maybe he knew that Sasuke was paying attention, but how did that make it any better?

Kakashi leaned against a tree and reached into his pocket. He pulled out four small, silver bells. "You will each get one of these. I will have the fourth. You need to acquire two bells to pass this exam. I will make it easy for you and will just defend my bell and not seek yours out."

Sasuke smirked and glanced to Sakura. "Easy."

Sasuke's response caused Sakura to squirm uncomfortably. "B-but sensei, doesn't that mean that only one of us, maybe two of us will pass at most?"

"Yes. The losers, after a time limit, will be sent immediately back to the academy. Failed. Any questions?"

Sakura bit her lip and shook her head. Sakura thought "Sasuke will be going after me then, and Naruto will go after Sasuke, probably. Meanwhile, Kakashi will go untested. With the time limit, probably only Sasuke will pass, as Naruto will not have enough time to steal a bell from Kakashi on his own. Actually, Kakashi is a jounin. Individually, none of us stand a chance at stealing a bell from him. Not even Sasuke. But maybe together? In the end, one of us will still have to fail. To maximize the passing rate, however, all three of us will need to concentrate on Kakashi." Sakura sighed. If she could not pass, maybe Naruto could. Someone had to prove that people cannot just go around telling others what they are capable of. Naruto had to prove something just as much as she did. She could maybe get him to go forward with her plan. She was unsure about Sasuke, however.

Naruto noticed the look Sasuke sent to Sakura. He frowned. His stomach rumbled again and he fought against a wave of starvation nausea. "No questions, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good." The jounin distributed the bells amongst his students. He eyed the faces of the Uchiha and the jinchuriki. "Begin."

Sakura felt a sharp push to her side. She collided with the ground. Metal clanged against metal. Her eyes widened with horror as Sasuke's kunai slid across Naruto's kunai.

"Run, Sakura-chan! I got this! I'll help you take care of sensei when I'm done!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I don't have time for this, dobe." He turned a dark glare to Sakura. "Give me your bell, Sakura."

"No!" She scrambled to her feet and jumped back just as Sasuke's thrown kunai sliced through the air she had just evacuated from. She ran. Sasuke chased. Her heart thundered against her chest as she sprinted through the forest, jumping over roots and ducking under branches. He would not actually hurt her, right?

"Teme!" Naruto chased after Sasuke.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu."

Sakura screamed and barely dodged a fireball. Her lungs burned in her chest. "Sasuke! Stop! Listen!" She turned and weakly caught a punch he sent to her stomach. "You can take my bell after the time limit. But if you want two of us to pass, we have to focus all of our abilities on Kakashi right now!"

Sasuke snorted and kicked her feet out from under her. She stumbled.

Naruto came up behind Sasuke and punched him across the face.

Sasuke groaned and pulled out another kunai. "Why would I help you?"

"Because, Sasuke! We're a team. And we could be friends." Naruto spoke.

Sasuke turned a wild glare towards Naruto and opened his mouth to speak.

Sakura heaved in a breath. "Plus, don't you want to say that you and two lowly genin took on a jounin. Don't you want to say that?" She stood. "Sasuke…Naruto deserves a chance." She thought of herself and only felt bitter. Her whole academy days were wasted. She could barely say that she had seriously tried to be a ninja. Naruto however did. "Come on, Sasuke. What is more impressive? That you took on a jounin and succeeded or that you succeeded in one on one combat against fucking weak as hell Haruno Sakura?" She would get stronger with or without this team. While she craved to rub it into her sensei's face that she could be strong enough, Naruto's years of effort were worth more than the five hours of dedication she had just put in. If she got sent back to the academy, so be it. She needed the training.

The dark haired boy raised an eyebrow at her and at Naruto who smirked back at him. "Fine. What is your plan?"

Sakura bit her lip. She scored the highest on written tests at the academy for a reason. Now she just had to warp that knowledge into a solid, tactical plan. "Come closer." The two boys crowded around her. "Here's what we do…"


	3. Part I: The Forge, Chapter II

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of its characters.**

**A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews, favorites, follows, etc. It really means a lot to me! Here's a new chapter. Let me know what you guys think!**

**~Rox**

The mist from the previous night started to evaporate into the oncoming dawn. The three ninjas huddled so closely that their knees touched. Naruto and Sasuke crouched on either side of Sakura. "So what can you both do? Specialty skills-wise?"

"Oh! You guys are gonna love this! I can do Kage Bunshin!" Naruto fist-pumped the air. "Like I can make fifty of me and they just charge straight at Kakashi."

"Various fire-style jutsus" Sasuke whispered. He did not want to risk the chance that their sensei could hear their plan.

Sakura nodded and withdrew a kunai from the black weapons pouch strapped to her thigh. She dug the tip of the weapon into the dirt. "So here is where we are now in the forest." She dug the kunai into a different spot and marked it with an X. "Here is where Kakashi is, presuming that he did not move. We will have locate him again in order to continue. Still, I want you, Naruto, to take ninja wire and thread it from this point—" she lifted the kunai and stabbed it into a spot to the south of the X before moving it to a spot to the north of Kakashi. "To this point. Drag the wire with you and pretend to be attacking Kakashi, okay Naruto? Use one of your clones to spread the wire while keeping him distracted. Sasuke, you're going to help me create a shuriken-throwing trap so that when the wire is snagged the trap releases." Sakura glanced up at the boys. Naruto nodded vigorously, but Sasuke's brows furrowed.

She continued "Naruto, you're going to try to attack Kakashi again, except this time I want you to bring the wire from this point to this point." She drew a line in the dirt from a point east of Kakashi to a point west of Kakashi. "Sasuke, you're going to help me build an exploding trap, about six tags wide, when this wire is triggered. Then, Naruto, you're going to take another wire and stretch it on the outskirts from the south point to the east point and repeat this from the west to the north. Thus, if any of the wires are snagged, both traps release. We're going to build one more trap from below. While placing all of the other traps in place, Naruto I need you to take some of this…" She reached back into her weapons pouch, except this time she pulled out a rusty tin flask. "And spread it with a clone again, throughout the area between the traps, where Kakashi will still be standing. Which is another responsibility for you, Naruto. You have to make sure that Kakashi does not move too much while fighting off your clones."

Naruto watched the map she had drawn in the dirt intently. "Got it. But what's the flask do?"

"It's just alcohol."

Sasuke coughed. Did the annoying fangirl plan on getting Kakashi drunk or something?

Naruto's eyes widened. "Um…Sakura-chan why?"

The girl glanced up to the sky and judged how much longer they had based on the position of the sun. "Because it's easily accessible, and it's going to make a really big explosion once the tags all go off, especially combined with one of Sasuke's fire jutsus." Sasuke and Naruto continued to stare at her. She sighed. "Look, I had a feeling that big explosions might be helpful today so I stole some of my dad's alcohol." The boys did not respond. Sakura deemed that they had accepted her answer and continued. "After all the traps are set, all three of us are going to come out and herd Kakashi into stepping into the traps and setting off a chain reaction of shuriken and explosions. We have to be careful not to step into any of the traps we have set nor get too close to the area the traps will be directed at. Our herding will then consist of our strongest ranged attacks all at once. Sasuke, you will stand here." She marked the spot in the dirt with an S. "Naruto, here." She marked an N. And I'll go here." She marked an H. "The physics of it should work out so that Kakashi, to dodge our attacks, will step straight into the traps."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Do you honestly think he'll just drop his bell after that? Do you think little traps could take down a jounin?" His dark eyes bored through her. Stupid, naïve girl.

"No. Which is why while he's recovering from the explosions, all three of us move in and go straight for the bell. He placed it in his right jacket pocket, if I remember. Naruto, you will attack from above, Sasuke you will attack from the center of his body, and I will attack around his feet. It may not work, but it's the best we've got." She glanced from Sasuke to Naruto. "So are you guys willing to try this or?"

Naruto grinned. "Of course."

"Hn."

"Okay, Naruto, you're up first." She reached into her pouch and relinquished five long coils of ninja wire to Naruto. "Naruto, after the final attack, promise me that no matter what goes down, you go straight for the bell and don't worry about anything else until you have it." Fierce green eyes locked with playful blue.

"Okay, yeah, Sakura-chan. No problem! You're really taking this seriously."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Being a ninja is serious, Naruto. Good luck."

"Don't worry! I'll place the traps so sneakily he won't suspect a thing, Sakura-chan!" His hands flew through a series of seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten Naruto clones appeared. The real Naruto handed the wire to one of them. "Alright, let's go!" They took off towards the southern point Sakura had drawn in the dirt.

Sasuke eyed Sakura for a moment. "What was that about?"

"Huh?"

"The 'promise me that no matter what goes down' bullshit?" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest.

Sakura smirked. "That, Sasuke, is part of our plan B."

A light pink and gold burned into the blue in the sky just above the tree line. The cold of the night started to dissipate. A warm, humid heat would soon replace the chill. Leaves swayed in the branches near the forest. Some trickled off of the trees and danced lazily into a slow moving, clear blue ravine. Kakashi stood in the center of a clearing in the Konoha forest. His nose was buried in a small orange book. His genin had approximately thirty more minutes left. He had not moved since this test began. He had no reason to, as his students had not engaged him in battle. Though, for the last couple of minutes, he had sensed their chakras grouped close together. So they were planning strategizing together. Good. Naruto's chakra signature had just separated from the group.

"Eat shit, sensei!" A massive shrill roar erupted to the south of Kakashi.

Kakashi raised his eyes from his little orange book to see eleven orange-clad blonde boys charging straight at him. Within seconds, they were upon him sending sloppy punches and kicks at him. Kakashi effortlessly blocked and evaded all of the attacks and sent sharp punches and kicks into the boys. Numerous poofs sounded as the boys disappeared one by one, until only the real Naruto struggled against Kakashi. However, the jounin did notice a second Naruto running back into the forest to the north of him. Interesting. Kakashi could foil their plot, but he wanted to see what these cute little genin had in store for him. The real Naruto performed a substitution jutsu and appeared behind Kakashi where he sent a shuriken at the man's back. Kakashi plucked the shuriken out of the air without even turning to see it. He sent it back at Naruto who disappeared into the north end of the forest.

A minute passed. No new movement. Then, a roar of "I'm not done yet, asshole!" sounded to the east of Kakashi. Ten new Narutos launched themselves at Kakashi, who was quite certain that the real Naruto was somewhere intermixed with the rest of them. He evaded a shower of overthrown punches and caught one of the Narutos and tossed it roughly into three of the other Narutos. Four consecutive poofs met Kakashi's ears. Kakashi elbowed the real Naruto and sent him colliding into another two Narutos who immediately disappeared. Kakashi ducked under the twin kicks of two of the other Naruto clones who ended up kicking each other into oblivion. The real Naruto stood and coughed. "Damn, sensei, you are an asshole!" Kakashi however noticed one extra Naruto disappearing to the west. Naruto threw three kunai at Kakashi. Kakashi extracted his own kunai and easily deflected the three Naruto sent. Naruto used this extra time to escape back into the woods. Kakashi scanned the woods and found Sasuke and Sakura's chakras standing close together. Interesting. He looked forward to seeing what they had come up with.

Sasuke turned to Sakura. "Are you finished attaching the tags?"

"Yes. Hopefully we are still undetected." Sakura bit her lip.

"Oye, dickface! We're still not done yet." Another wave of ten Narutos was upon Kakashi. He sighed and defeated them one after another in an easy taijutsu battle. Did the boy not understand that this strategy clearly was not working? Nevertheless, Kakashi had to admire the boy's intense amount of chakra. Even without the Kyuubi, his chakra reserves were very advanced for a genin. He did want the Uchiha and jinchuriki to succeed, truly. They would prove…amusing little pets.

Two Narutos , one presumably the real one, fled from the battle this time. One ran east, and another ran north. Kakashi frowned. Very suspicious. The sun now shone brightly marking the new day. He glanced to the ground and observed that it was still wet, despite the fact that most of the dew should have just evaporated. He caught a glint of metal out of the corner of his eye. Ninja wire? Still, he did not move. He was curious.

Naruto met Sakura and Sasuke in the forest. "All set up! Let's go!"

Sasuke grunted. "Into position."

Sakura twitched with annoyance. This was her plan. What right did Sasuke have to say "into position." He had not done any tactical planning. This was not his operation! Still, she remained quiet and headed to her position.

They counted out thirty seconds.

Kakashi glanced at the sky. His team had ten minutes left. So they planned something big for the end. Great. Yet, still far too obvious.

"I'm back, asshole-sensei!" Naruto's voice rang through the clearing as he charged towards Kakashi. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He sent four more Narutos charging at Kakashi, while he himself stayed back a little.

"Hn. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke appeared and charged towards Kakashi from a side slightly to the left of Naruto.

Sakura said nothing and charged from a third point. She had not yet mastered any impressive ranged jutsus, and she had to settle for emptying the rest of her weapons pouch at Kakashi.

Kakashi smirked and jumped into the air, avoiding Sakura's weapons. He landed and then flipped backwards, avoiding the many Narutos. He watched as Sasuke's great fireball did not take a direct path to him and instead was heading towards the ground. He took a step back and felt his foot snag a wire. The earth around him erupted into a flurry of explosions. He could no longer see as the smoke blinded him. Using a minor wind jutsu, he avoided the many weapons aimed at him while the explosions went off one after the other. Each explosion built on the last and set the earth around him into a fiery hailstorm. He brought his kunai up to deflect a shuriken. Smart. They had worked effectively to diminish his senses. He grunted and his hands formed seals faster than eyes could follow. "Suiton: Doshaburi no Ame no Jutsu!" Water lifted from the nearby ravine and started to pour down on the earth and extinguish the fires from the explosion. He hurriedly ducked under the oncoming fist of the airborne Uzumaki and deflected a kick from the Uchiha. He jumped over the girl's low kick to his ankles.

Then, he moved behind the Uzumaki and moved his hands in a position similar to the tiger seal with his forefinger and middle finger on each hand outstretched. "Sennen Goroshi!" He implanted his fingers directly towards Naruto's anus. The boy screeched and went flying. Kakashi had to restrain himself from laughing. Messing with his genin was too amusing.

Naruto fell to the ground and rubbed his injured butt.

Sakura sent a quick jump kick to the back of Kakashi's head. He turned and gripped Sakura by the ankle. She screamed as he tossed her into Sasuke. The two collided and roughly hit the grass with Sakura sprawled on top of Sasuke and their limbs intertwined.

Sakura's face reddened. This was the first time she had ever been that close to a boy. She could feel his muscles tense beneath her. She tried to rise to her hands, but her elbow was caught under Sasuke's body and she fell back onto his chest. "S-sorry Sasuke-kun."

"Hn. Get off."

She extracted her limbs and scrambled off of the boy. She sat on her knees and looked up at Kakashi. Her eyes appeared wide and unsure of herself while the blush had not yet vanished.

Kakashi glanced up to the sky and the position of the sun. "You have five minutes left before you all fail."

"Give me your bell now, Sakura. It's over." Sasuke spoke as he rose to his feet.

"W-what!? No! We still have time." Sakura jumped to her feet. "Come on. We can try, please?"

"It's over, Sakura. Give me the bell" Sasuke growled. He narrowed his eyes as he walked over to her.

She took a step back. "No! We can still try. We can do this. Right, Naruto?" She glanced furtively over to the blonde boy who still lay sprawled on the floor.

"Right, Sakura-chan. Just give me a moment." Naruto weakly rose onto his hands and knees.

"S-see! We can definitely do this!" Sakura smiled, but one of her eyes squinted more than the other eye.

Sasuke eliminated any between the two. He stopped a mere two inches before her. Dark hair obscured dark eyes. "What don't you get, you fucking cunt!? You're too weak. You would be a disgrace as a genin. Give me the bell and step down." He smirked predatorily, locked eyes with Sakura, and offered her his upturned palm.

"Hey! Don't talk to Sakura-chan like that!" Naruto managed to stand.

"Why did you call me that, Sasuke-kun?! I thought you were nice!" She broke the eye contact and stared down at the ground at her feet. "A-at least on the inside…" Tears formed in the corners of Sakura's over-wide light green eyes.

The jounin watched the scene. Intriguing. How far gone was the last Uchiha? He had heard medical ninja gossiping about his diminishing sanity. Yet, was the boy truly heartless already? Had the hatred already coiled around his heart and bled it dry, inch by rancid inch, of compassion?

Sasuke laughed. "Where did you put the bell, Sakura?"

"I-I…" She blushed.

"Three minutes left," Kakashi supplied.

"Fucking annoying, obsessive cunt!" Sasuke sent a vicious punch to Sakura's stomach.

She gasped and fell to her knees clutching her stomach. The tears flowed freely now. "N-no! You're not the Sasuke-kun I know! You're a selfish monster!"

He laughed again. "Oh, the one you thought you knew, huh? Terrible shame that I'm not him." He drew a kunai and jumped on top of Sakura. His weight forced her onto her back. He sat on her thighs.

She trembled. "Please, Sasuke-kun…don't…"

Naruto drew a kunai and ignored the pain in his butt. "Get the fuck away from her, teme! What the hell is wrong with you!?" He glared at Kakashi. The look in his eyes was accusatory. That man had turned them all against each other. They could have been friends…

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

Sweaty pink hair clung to her forehead as Sasuke reached into her pants pockets searching for the bell. "I-it's not there."

"Then where is it!?" He pulled her pants down to where he was seated on her thighs, exposing childish white panties with little pink bows woven into the hemline. His thick black hair drowned the sides of his face and concealed his blush from everyone but Sakura. "Where the fuck is it!?"

"I…" She blushed heavily. He brought the kunai to her throat.

Naruto lunged forward just as Kakashi lunged forward. Kakashi shoved Sasuke roughly off of Sakura while Naruto attached himself to Kakashi's back. Naruto's fingers touched the bell in Kakashi's jacket pocket, and he quickly extracted it. Sasuke landed on his back a good five feet away from Sakura.

Sakura hurriedly pulled up her pants. The blush had not faded. She reached down her shirt and took a bell out from her bra. She walked over to Sasuke, who had only risen to his knees, and handed him the bell. "Here, Sasuke." She did not look at him. She had wanted him to pretend to want to fight her and kill her for the bell. When Kakashi intervened and Naruto snatched the bell, it was supposed to happen during a fight. They were supposed to be battling each other. Instead, he forced her to the ground and tore her pants down her legs. She did not like this spin of events. Of course, she had acted consistently with the events as they presented themselves. She was nothing if not opportunistic. Still, she could not help but wonder how much of her "scared" acting was acting. The tears had not stopped falling, and she was not sure if she understood why. She had done her best to kill any feelings she had for Sasuke the previous night. Yet, the man in her hand, the man of her dreams, needed some sort of face as a placeholder, and Sakura had not yet found a new face. Sasuke was right when he said that he was not the boy she thought she knew. He never was. She never knew him. The sole survivor of a massacre. Damaged and fucked up, maybe beyond repair, not some quiet, protective pretty boy.

Surprise hit Kakashi for the first time he had ever tested a genin team. They had done it. They had actually stolen a bell from him. He smirked behind his mask. The potential, he could almost taste it. His own little demons. "Time's up. But look at that, two of my cute little students have two bells. Congratulations, Naruto and Sasuke. You will both be my students."

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyelashes and started to collect her kunai. So what now? Did she have to enroll back into the academy? Would her parents even let her? She was not sure if her tears were real or an act anymore. She just gave up her career to a boy who had never respected her and who possibly never would. But that was the deal to get Naruto to pass, right? She yanked a shuriken out of the dirt.

Sasuke smirked and turned to Naruto expecting to see the blond boy celebrating.

Instead, Naruto glared at Kakashi. "Are you serious!? You're going to fail Sakura-chan when she's the only reason we have these bells?! I wouldn't have mine if it wasn't for her planning, and she just handed hers over to Sasuke! That's not right, Kakashi-sensei!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe. I would have gotten mine from her anyway through combat."

Naurto turned his icy stare to Sasuke. "But you didn't, now did you?" He sighed and walked over to Sakura. He crouched down next to her and started to collect her ninja wire. "I'm done with this bullshit. Sakura and I will find a new sensei."

"I never said that Sakura failed" Kakashi spoke softly.

Sakura's eyes darted to Kakashi. "What?"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Congratulations, Sakura. You pass. Welcome to Team Seven."

"What? Really?" Her eyes widened. "But you said that we could only pass if we had two bells."

Kakashi shrugged. "In the ninja world, rules change fast. You were able to unite your team. All three of you demonstrated superb real world tactics. To take down an enemy stronger than yourself, it is sometimes necessary to put prejudices aside and unite with weaker enemies who share your common stronger enemy. That was one of the goals of this test. The other goal was to see how you could function as a team. While you may have limited talents, you were able to work with what you had and use the most important skill a ninja has in his" he glanced pointedly at Sakura "or her arsenal: deception. You used my prior knowledge about Sasuke's mental stability in order to orchestrate a scenario in which I genuinely thought he might hurt you, and I intervened. Ultimately, you used the intelligence I had gathered about Sasuke against me. Meanwhile, Naruto used this opening to retrieve my bell and theoretically take down the stronger threat."

Naruto's brow furrowed. "So that thing with Sakura…that was just an act, teme?"

Sasuke glanced emotionlessly at the ground. "Yeah, dobe. I don't want to kill innocent people…only the bad ones. And I'm not a rapist." Sasuke wanted to hide. Kakashi knew about his mental instability, and he had deemed him psychopathic enough to snap and abuse Sakura. And Sakura herself…she knew enough about his madness to know that Kakashi would expect Sasuke to be cruel enough to kill or torture her. The whole fucking village thought he was mad, didn't they? He could hear their voices in his head as they dragged the Uchiha name through the mud. Uchiha Sasuke. Sexy psychopath. So when would the fear supersede the allure? They thought he was shit show. Damaged goods. He started to grasp why he had so many fangirls. Their parents had told them that he was simultaneously dangerous and pitiful. A forbidden, dark secret that they thought they could fix and make happy again. But they couldn't. He didn't want their love confessions or their caresses. They only wanted to fix him. Change him. Own him. Use him as a symbol of their status among other girls. None of them wanted to know him. Maybe he was a shit show.

"So we're all a team now? Teme, Sakura-chan, and I…we're all going to be genin together under you, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes. You are now all officially genin of Konoha." Kakashi nodded at the trio.

"Alright! I'm going to be Hokage in no time!" Naruto fist pumped the air. His stomach suddenly growled loudly.

Sakura giggled. "It's going to take a little longer than that, Naruto. But we should all get food soon. You used up a lot of chakra today." The sheer amount of chakra that Naruto had scared her a little. How many clones had he made during the day? Thirty? How was that possible for a genin?

Naruto laughed. "Yeah! You, me, teme, and sensei should get something to eat!"

Sasuke rubbed his forehead. "Fine, dobe." He glanced to Sakura, but her eyes were glued to Naruto. She laughed and agreed with Naruto.

Kakashi shook his head. "I am afraid I cannot attend. I have places to be. Missions to sign you three up for…Meet me on the Konoha Bridge tomorrow at seven AM." He waved to his genin and started to head back to the village.

"Missions!? Awesome!" Naruto bellowed.

Sasuke sighed.

"Oh, then, Kakashi-sensei, could I talk to you for a moment?" Sakura called after her sensei.

Kakashi turned to face the girl. "Yes, Sakura?"

She bit her lip and walked up to him. "Can we walk a little bit so the boys don't hear…?"

"Sure." Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and walked beyond a blanket of towering trees with the girl.

Birds chirped overhead. A little squirrel foraged for nuts in a nearby tree. "You said I had no potential…why did you let me pass?"

Kakashi smirked. "Because you surprised me, Sakura. Neither of those plans came from Naruto or Sasuke, did they? Sasuke is too headstrong to admit needing to cooperate with others, and Naruto is not tactful enough to come up with such a plan."

"But you said I had no potential…" She watched the little squirrel as it seemed to bicker with another little squirrel.

"You don't. Compared to Naruto and Sasuke. But I'm giving you a chance to prove me wrong. You shouldn't be a ninja. You should not throw your life away. I will not suffer idealistic fools. But perhaps you can surprise me again, in regards to your potential. Naturally though, you will have to work much harder than Sasuke and Naruto to achieve similar results. This is not some sappy, I believe in you speech. I don't believe in you. If you want to go down this route, force myself and everyone else to believe in you." With that, he vanished.

Sakura bit her lip in contemplation. It still was not a supportive comment, but it was not exactly degrading either. Maybe she was just getting used to Kakashi.

"So, teme, why did Sakura seem so upset after if that was the plan all along? It worked, didn't it?"

"I don't know. Girls are weird." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. The plan never involved him pulling her pants down. Or calling her a cunt. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time to make the plan work. It seemed…natural? Sasuke avoided sharply inhaling. Was he a monster? He was not Itachi. Never. But, why was it so easy for him to terrorize Sakura? She was annoying, but she was innocent too. He blushed at the thought of the white panties, but the thought was only momentary. It did not matter. She did not matter. If she got scared too easily on a plan she wrote up, that was her problem, not his.

"Sakura-chan! Are you done yet!?" Naruto's voice called from beyond the trees.

"Yeah! Just give me a second!" Sakura yelled back. She ran through the trees to rejoin Naruto and Sasuke. Her boys. Her team. At least, for now.

"Let's go to Ichiraku's for ramen!" Naruto rubbed his stomach. He hoped his wallet had enough to pay. He had not bothered to check that morning.

"Sure! I could go for some of that." She did not look at or acknowledge Sasuke.

"Hn."

They set out for Ichiraku's.

The curtains were drawn over the round windows of the Sandaime's office. Kakashi knelt before a colossal stone desk. "I have selected the next Team Seven."

The old man behind the desk smiled bitterly as he kneaded his hands through his beard. "Good. Training will start tomorrow. Nothing typical, Kakashi."

Kakashi laughed darkly. "Oh, of course not. Don't worry. I have something…quite interesting planned."


	4. Part I: The Forge, Chapter III

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either.**

**A/N: Sorry about the late update! Lots of tests during this past week of school. Anyways, thank you so much for all support you give. Here is a new chapter. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it. **

**Let me know what you think!**

**~Roxy**

A hollow hum echoed across the flat metallic expanse. Rivulets of blood pattered out onto the floor into a spiral design. The seal spun. A hand collided with glass on the inside of the glossy metal tank. Fingers splayed wide.

-0-

Grimy red flags covered in black lettering flapped slowly in the humid heat seeping forth from the masses of bodies that pushed their ways through the crowded street. Loud voices haggling for the prices of bruised fruit, glass jars of rainwater, and pots of steaming oddly scented soups overpowered the sounds of the flags' dismal fluttering. The faded strips of cloth clung to a rotted wooden bar that offered coverage and advertisement for Ichiraku Ramen. Beyond the strips of red cloth, a pleasant, spicy aroma overwhelmed the spoiled scents of the marketplace food.

Naruto sat on a worn wooden stool in front of the cooking counter. Four empty bowls of ramen were stacked on the thin counter in front of him. He sighed happily. He was seated between Sasuke and Sakura. The former was picking at the remnants of a single bowl of ramen in front of him. The latter had finished her bowl and reached into her pants pocket to extract the money necessary to pay. "Thanks for getting lunch with me guys! I think we're gonna be a badass team!" Naruto bellowed.

"Yeah, definitely, Naruto." Sakura smiled. She had purposefully seated herself on the far side of Naruto and away from Sasuke. To her left, one stool down, sat a crumpled old woman dressed in a ripped red kimono. The sleeves of the kimono fell off of the woman's shoulders and exposed more flesh than the garment would have traditionally intended. The elderly woman rocked a baby against her bare, wrinkled breasts. Sakura tried not to glance at the woman or at her smattering of thick, raised scars across her shoulders and breasts: whip marks, Sakura's weapons instructor had taught her. Not looking was something her mother had taught her: "don't acknowledge them. You can't help them. It's too sad." Mebuki's sayings circled through Sakura's head. She had never been to this part of town before. She could hear the old woman humming something to the baby in a deep, guttural voice.

Naruto grinned back at Sakura. "You're so nice, Sakura-chan! Unlike teme who acts like something's been stuck up his ass this whole time."

Black eyes darted swiftly to Naruto and glared. "Dobe." His eyes landed briefly on Sakura's eyes, but she quickly glanced away. He frowned. He had noticed how she had walked around both him and Naruto in order to sit on Naruto's other side and away from him. Stupid girl. She was still mad about him carrying out a plan that she had created? Girls were weird.

Naruto laughed. "Hey, it's not my fault, teme. I didn't put the stick up there!"

Sakura let out an uneasy chuckle.

Sasuke's eyes whipped back to Naruto. They were dark, narrow, and furious.

Naruto continued laughing. Part of him realized that it might be cruel. Still, Sasuke's acting with Sakura had left a foul taste in his mouth. And Naruto, despite trying to be kind to everyone around him, was no saint. He could vividly remember Sasuke telling him that he had no hope to ever be a shinobi just within the past week. He remembered Sasuke's cocky smirk whenever Naruto would fail a new jutsu. The taunts had circulated through his mind, and part of him relished in taunting Sasuke back. Endless kindness surely was not helping the guy anyways. Naruto could easily see Sasuke's disdain for his fangirls. "Seriously though! Who rammed something that far up your asshole that you're always such a brooding teme!?"

_Itachi, _Sasuke thought, before he could even stop himself. Sasuke felt every muscle in his body spasm at once. After a single twitch, his body was still again. Who could he have been if Itachi never…snapped? Was snapped the right word for it, or was his brother always fucked up? Would Sasuke himself always be fucked up? His glare harshened as he turned to glare down at the counter in front of him. Strands of long midnight hair obscured his face. He would kill Itachi. He would return balance to his life.

"Naruto!" Sakura lightly hit Naruto on the back of the head. "That wasn't nice." She leaned in and whispered a quick "he's sensitive, okay? Like Kakashi said, we have to be careful." She had noticed the twitch and felt her own heart jump in her chest. Why? She had no idea. She thought of how he had ripped her pants down her legs and felt afraid again, but she also blushed.

She had meant to be quiet. Really, she did. Unfortunately, Sasuke heard every word. His stomach churned. Suddenly, he wanted to vomit. She thought he was weak. She could barely fight and yet had deemed him "sensitive." His glare shot up to her. He met her eyes, and black burned into startled green.

Naruto turned towards Sasuke and watched the other boy through wide, blue eyes. He leaned his elbows against the counter and moved his head forward and onto his hands. He had successfully blocked Sakura from Sasuke's sight. "But whatever you've got stuck up there, that's okay with me because you're on my team, and we're going to raise hell together like we did today against Kakashi-sensei! Team Seven, get ready to dominate!" He fist pumped the air. He hoped his optimism helped diffuse the situation to some extent. Sasuke was lonely, like himself. Naruto frowned. Bastard as Sasuke may be, Naruto knew that he needed social support. So far, he had not let anyone in. Naruto would not push himself in. He would not cater to Sasuke's every whim and blindly praise him like a fangirl. But he was there. If Sasuke ever reached out. He remembered walking past the pier out by the river. He used to see a younger Sasuke sitting out alone on the bridge at sunset. As a kid, Naruto would silently watch Sasuke's back and hope that the other boy would turn and see him. Just looking back at him, any spark of acknowledgment no matter how brief, could have made Naruto feel like he mattered. Sasuke was broken. Even an eight-year old Naruto knew that. Broken, alone, and afraid. Maybe they could be broken, alone, and afraid together? Age had crushed that dream when Sasuke had excelled exponentially faster than the rest of the academy students and joined the ranks of peers who deemed Naruto stupid, talentless, and worthless. "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke! The trio of death! Believe it! We're gonna be legends!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "The trio of death? That's so…lame sounding."

Naruto frowned.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "We need a better team name. Right, Sasuke-kun?" She leaned her elbows against the counter and peered around Naruto over towards her other teammate.

Sasuke glanced over at her. "Hn." He watched her. So she avoided him, and now she was bringing him into her conversation? Stupid.

"So…" she smirked at him. "Your turn to come up with a name, Uchiha." She stuck her tongue out at him as well. Maybe if she treated him like she treated Naruto things could be normal? Maybe they could interact and avoid awkwardness while making it clear that she refused to be a fangirl anymore? She still doubted he would ever respect her. He didn't seem to respect any of his peers.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Just agree with me and say the trio of death!" Naruto made an energetic fist.

"No. That is a lame name, dobe."

"Aww no fair! You guys are so mean and lame!" He pouted.

The old woman's gaze narrowed on the loud blonde haired boy. A look of disgust crossed her face as her eyes squinted on the figure. She scrunched the kimono back up over her shoulders. She deposited an amount of money onto the counter. With the baby still in her arms, she muttered a quick "I refuse to eat alongside vermin" and roughly shouldered Naruto as she exited Ichiraku's.

Naruto's eyes darkened. He bit his tongue and stared after the old woman. He bent his head down and loose strands of hair scattered into his face.

"Naruto…what was that about?" Sakura placed a tentative hand on her teammate's shoulder before retracting it. They were not close enough for physical comfort.

Shrugging, Naruto stood from his stool. "I don't know. Maybe I played a prank on her or something." He dug into his pocket only to find lint. His frown deepened. He glanced back at Sasuke and Sakura. Neither had stood yet. If he ran, they would have to pick up the tab. But…they were supposed to be his teammates. His friends? Maybe one day? Would they pay for him if he asked them to? Would they ask why he couldn't pay? Would they ask why he was poor? Why he couldn't find a job? Why he had left the orphanage? Naruto smiled playfully—fake, his mind said—and turned to glance back at his teammates. His eyes widened. "Holy shit! I forgot to turn the stove off in my home! My apartment is going to burn down! Nyan could be in there!" He spun on his heels and sprinted off, away from Ichiraku's.

Sakura stared after Naruto's orange-clad back. How could anyone be that forgetful and still pass their academy exams? Also, Naruto had a cat? She heard Sasuke grunt from somewhere behind her. She whipped around to face her remaining teammate who was staring at her expectantly. "What?" Why did he grunt at her and expect her to understand what he was saying?

He motioned towards the empty bowls. "Are you paying?"

A gust of humid air slapped the dirty red flag into Sakura's face. The flag tangled against her sweaty ponytail before falling back into its place in front of the ramen stand. She scowled at him. "Are you fucking serious?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her.

She huffed in a breath and wiped sweaty strands of pink hair from her forehead. She turned to face him and crossed her arms over her chest. Mocking his posture, she stared back at him.

He raised an eyebrow.

She exhaled angrily. "Aren't you rich or something?"

"Hn."

Somehow, the humidity had not caused his hair to stick to his forehead and cheeks as it had caused her hair to. This annoyed Sakura. "Oh fine, oh perfect Uchiha master, I, your humble servant will pay for you." She grit her teeth.

Sasuke stood from his stool. He walked over to Sakura. He slightly towered over her by a few inches even as she sat in her elevated stool. "I was going to pay for myself. I was asking if you planned on paying for the dobe."

Sakura stood from her stool as well and glanced up at Sasuke. Their interactions confused her. She had no idea what amount of push and pull she could accomplish with Sasuke without invoking his hatred, seeming like a fangirl, or damaging the already shattered psyche he was rumored to have. When should she be aggressive? When should she be submissive to his moods? It yet again dawned on her that the boy she had fawned over, the boy that she had stolen the reality from and plastered her own ideals onto the physical existence of, remained a stranger. An unpredictable, possibly volatile, possibly broken stranger. She had seen his nearly translucent skin, lush black hair, and dark abysmal eyes and obsessed over manipulating the image of Sasuke into her ideal. Yet, who was Uchiha Sasuke? Sakura no longer knew herself, never knew Sasuke, and recognized that she probably did not know Naruto either. Did she even know Ino? Her own parents? What did it matter? Sakura could never seem to create a strong enough bond with anyone. All of her bonds seemed artificial. Up until yesterday, she was content with being a fangirl. She had even abandoned Ino to pursue Sasuke. Sakura could picture the tears in Ino's icy eyes when Sakura had claimed that they could no longer be friends. Ino…who had made Sakura feel like she could belong. Abandoned for a stranger. Some friend she was, Sakura mused about herself.

Sasuke heaved in an agitated breath and moved some hair from in front of his face. "Well?"

"Fine. I'll pay for him. I have enough money" she spoke softly. She fished through her pants pocket and extracted a pink, cat-shaped wallet. She opened the wallet, retrieved the necessary money, and handed the money to the man behind the counter. Teuchi or something? "For me and for my friend Naruto, the blonde boy in the orange." She slid her wallet back into her pants.

The man behind the bar nodded sympathetically. "Yes, of course. It is so nice of you to pay for him. So few people give him a chance to be the great kid I know he can be. He can't pay you back now, but he's a good kid. Don't believe what they tell you around here about him."

Sakura bit her lip. "Like what the old lady called him? What do people around here say about him?"

The man behind the bar wringed together two tan hands in between stacking the empty bowls of ramen left from the three genin and the older woman. "It's not a story for you, little lady. Maybe one day your parents will tell you about Uzumaki Naruto." He sighed and gazed off at a half empty bottle of sake placed at the end of the counter.

"Oh. Well thank you. I'll ask then." She turned and brushed lightly past Sasuke. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun." She still added the suffix. Habits, she supposed. Would Naruto really have played pranks on the impoverished people of this section of Konohagakure? Is that why he was hated? She shook her head. An image entered her mind from when she was five years old. _She and Ino were chasing each other through overgrown grass._ _"Almost got you!" Ino giggled as her fingers grazed Sakura's long red ribbon._

_ "Nuh uh!" Sakura giggled in response. The pink haired girl wriggled between two moving swings and ran towards the river. She paused as she noticed a lone little blonde boy sitting in the grass on the hill overlooking the river. She had often seen him alone before. Nobody ever seemed to talk to him. Tiny Sakura wondered why. Did they make fun of him too? He had weird whisker-like scars on his face. That had to earn him similar taunting to her forehead._

_ "Got ya!" Ino pounced onto Sakura causing both girls to tumble down to the ground. "Why did you stop running?" Ino panted as she rolled off of Sakura._

_Sakura rolled onto her stomach and extended a short finger towards the blonde boy. "Who's that boy, Ino-chan?"_

_"I don't know. Naru something? My otou-san says he's a big meanie and I shouldn't talk to him." _

_Sakura watched the boy turn over his shoulder to glance at them. He had heard them. Sakura blushed. His big, blue eyes locked with hers. She could see tears streaming down his face. It made her want to cry. "I don't think he's a meanie, Ino-chan. He looks sad. I don't want him to be sad." She watched as the blonde boy's eyes widened and he cast a small, shaky smile at her. _

_Ino glared at the boy. "My daddy's always right. He says that boy is a monster!"_

"Sakura."

The girl halted. The memories faded from her mind. She turned to see Sasuke standing next to her with his hands shoved into his pockets. She frowned. "Yes?"

He tilted his head to the side. She had paid and then she had left, suddenly. She had not waited to hear his goodbye nor did she seem to hear it when he supplied it. "What did the ramen shop owner and the old hag mean…about Naruto?" Maybe her family had told her. Maybe her mother had picked her up in strong loving arms and divulged the secrets of the strange whisker-marked boy. Maybe her mother had smelled like shiso and had long, flowing raven hair and little dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. He felt a dull pang in his chest but pushed it back deep into his mind.

"I…have no clue. Naruto is a baka…but, I don't think he would pull pranks on an old woman. Or honestly anyone from that part of town. Naruto…he's too, well he seems too kind for that. But what do I know?"

Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. "What do you know?" He kept his hand on her shoulder.

She instinctively flinched at the contact. Both of them noticed. Sasuke retracted his hand.

"I…well, a long time ago…Ino said that her father told her Naruto was a monster. But we were five. I don't see how that is possible" Sakura responded whilst glancing away from Sasuke's face.

"It's not. Did your own parents say anything about it?"

"No. Not really. When I asked my dad about it, he told me that I should be nice to Naruto." She felt her stomach coil as she realized that she had been anything but nice to the boy throughout the years. "Yours?" The question came out before she could stop it. She almost clapped her hand to her lips in some futile attempt to force the word back in.

He pictured his mother He could almost feel her hand running through his hair as she sang. "Okaa-san told me to be nice to Naruto too" he whispered.

"And neither of us have been, have we?" Sakura glanced up at Sasuke.

"Hn." He had not cast cruel jeers at Naruto like the other boys had. He never screamed "demon" in Naruto's face. He had not joined the others in beating Naruto up after class once every Friday. He was not one who had pantsed Naruto in front of the entire class on his birthday. Sasuke had been as nice as he could be. No, he had not talked to Naruto. But what could he say? Comforting words lied. It would not be okay. It never would be okay. Both of them had to deal with their lots in life.

Sakura watched Sasuke as they walked together in silence. A few days ago she would have been squealing at this opportunity. Now? She had no idea what to think about him. His face seemed impassive. Empty, almost. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"Hn?" He half turned to face her. His brows furrowed.

"About…well you know what Kakashi-sensei said. Using common knowledge about you to—"

"Common knowledge" he practically growled. He gripped her shoulder roughly and turned her to face him. His grip on her shoulder was crushing. She flinched again and he removed his hand as if he had touched lava. He clenched his fists.

She ran a shaky hand through her ponytail. "I-I mean…rumors about your, you know—" Her eyes flickered around his face, looking at his nose, his lips, chin, eyebrows, anywhere but his eyes.

Rage and shame bubbled inside of Sasuke. How dare she come out and say it. Say that she and everyone else thought he was fucking crazy. "Shut up."

Sakura could feel his hot breath on her face. She glanced at their feet. They stood about six inches apart. When had they gotten so close? "I…I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"Just shut up. You're annoying." _Stop fucking saying you're sorry. When has sorry ever fixed anything!? _

She took a step back from him. Then, another. She hurriedly created distance. Again, she had tried to be nice and he had demeaned her. "Well hopefully while we work together as a team, you'll be able to see me as something more than annoying. For what it's worth, I think you're more than the rumors say." And she did. Or she used to. She spun on her heel and scurried towards her home.

Sasuke stood and stared at her retreating figure. He felt the rage within him subside. Somehow, she had not acted like a fangirl all day until moments ago. Even then, her statement was not flirty, and she had left him. She was confusing. Annoying. And, she was afraid of him. Despite her optimistic words, every time he touched her, she jumped. He slowly began his trek back to the Uchiha Compound.

Cracked whitewashed pillars burdened with moss and intertwining green vines stood solitary and militant in front of the Compound. He bypassed the pillars and the overgrown gardens and stepped into the main building. In the day, he could feel no presences and hear no voices. Small animals had built homes within his home. Sasuke allowed them to. Long, heavy streaks of sunlight lit the dusty floorboards from in between missing sections of the roof. The day felt lonelier than the night. Sasuke retreated to the Uchiha training grounds. Like his room, this section of the Compound seemed livable, pristine even. He grunted as he sent a forceful punch to a training dummy.

Naruto sat alone in his one room apartment. Peeling yellow plaster clung to dingy water damaged walls. A neighbor's laundry line obscured any view he could have from the single window in his apartment. The blonde smiled to himself and kicked the stack of papers from his table. After his first mission, he could finally pay his bills.

Sakura returned to her home and buried herself in another textbook. She thumbed through explanations of more complicated taijutsu techniques.

-0-

At seven AM, three fresh genin waited atop the bridge. The blonde boy sat on the ground and dug into a semi-filthy looking take-out container. Sakura bent over the boy and raised an eyebrow. "How old is that curry? It smells awful." She retracted her face and took a couple steps back from Naruto.

The Uzumaki blushed. "Um. Dunno. I..uh..found it." He glanced to her and noticed that she had foregone the red dress again and wore black shorts, boots, and a red shirt.

"Found it? Like outside somewhere? Isn't that dangerous?" She placed her hands on her hips. A messy pink ponytail swung with the slight movement.

He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Uh…maybe. Oh hey, you seem to care a lot, Sakura-chan. Wanna go on a date with me?" He grinned, happy to have redirected the conversation.

"What? No, baka. It's not like that. I just don't want you getting sick."

"Aww. You liiike me" he teased.

"I do not! Well, not like that."

"You care about me! You don't want me to get sick. You like me!" He grinned.

"Not like that! Ugh. Just shut up, Naruto." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and turned away.

Naruto giggled and shoved more curry into his mouth. He debated his chances with Sakura. She did not seem too pleased with Sasuke yesterday and she had not fawned over him yet today. Meanwhile, she had been a bit nicer to Naruto on both occasions. Things might be looking up for him in the romance department. Despite being mean and obsessive over Sasuke, Sakura was really pretty and Naruto remembered her from their childhood. The little girl that always got picked on and said that she thought he was nice. If Ino had not stepped in, maybe he could have. Maybe they could have been friends. Maybe with Sasuke too. They could have been outcasts together, braving the world with only each other to depend on. Well, they were comrades in arms now. They had to brave the world together now. Naruto suppressed another giddy laugh as he ate more of the curry his neighbor had discarded in the trash the previous night. The idea of making friends made him feel as squealy as Sakura acted during her fangirl phase.

Sasuke leaned against the bridge and stared up into the sky with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his white shorts. His teammates' easy conversation made him feel…awkward? They seemed to already be forming some sort of camaraderie with each other. He was grateful to have some breathing room from Sakura's obsessions, however. Her full-undivided attention was something he thought he would never miss. He nearly cringed as he remembered all of the times she had clung to his arm, tried to nuzzle him, or attack hug him from behind. And they thought he was crazy. She was almost a sexual predator. He nearly smirked at the thought. Though, he did want to prove that he was more than the rumors said. Uchiha Sasuke was not insane. Not yet. He felt the usual wave of anger pulse through his veins.

Thirty minutes later, Kakashi casually approached the bridge with his little orange book in his left hand. He cast a bored gaze up at his students. Behind him, a woman with cropped black hair, dark brown eyes, and clad in black nin pants, white bandages wrapped heavily around her entire torso, and a long black coat walked. Kakashi halted on the bridge and faced his students. "Welcome to your first day of training Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. This" he gestured behind him before continuing "is Michi. She is a chakra reader. A passive kekkei genkai ability. She will be briefly joining us today to tell us about your elemental affinities and which techniques your chakra will be naturally more inclined to."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's an elemental affinity?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Did you ever pay attention in class?"

His expressionless look answered her question.

She sighed. "Elemental jutsus, like Sasuke's Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu are pretty powerful jutsus. Each one of us has a natural affinity towards one, and sometimes more elements over the others. Our elemental affinity tells us which elemental jutsus we are naturally better at performing."

"Oh."

"And that is where I come in." Michi stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Which one first?"

Kakashi pointed to Naruto.

The boy blushed as the woman, with an upper half only concealed by bandages, appeared in front of him and loomed over him.

He hastily rose to his feet. "Me? Heh. My chakra's going to be awesome, believe it!" He watched Michi. She stood about a foot taller than him.

Michi glanced at the whisker marks on the boy's face. She swiftly turned over her shoulder and sent a quick glare at Kakashi. "Not this one. You know that I—"

Kakashi held up a hand to silence her. "Just the affinity, Michi."

"Right." She quickly took the boy's hand between her own and squeezed.

Naruto could feel strange, foreign chakra prodding through his veins, sometimes painfully, sometimes almost ticklish.

"Wind." She grunted and released his hand as if it had burned through her flesh. She glanced back to Kakashi. "Huge-scale ninjutsu is a natural inclination for this one. But you already knew that."

"Huge-scale ninjutsu! Fuck yeah! I'm so gonna be Hokage!" Naruto's grin spread as wide as it could.

Ignoring Naruto's antics, Sasuke turned to Sakura. His stare was stern. Black eyes bored into her, communicating that something about Naruto demanded their investigation.

The statement about Naruto's chakra puzzled Sakura, but the boy did seem to have an extremely large chakra reserve. His production of thirty shadow clones the previous day had alerted her to this feature of her new teammate. Sakura turned to see Sasuke's intense stare upon her. What was he trying to tell her? She felt herself shiver. His stare seemed so…empty. His eyes were voids. Empty, inescapable, but compelling, almost as if gravity seized her chakra and was slowly drawing her into him. Sakura resisted the urge to blush under his gaze. Somehow, his gaze seemed titillating. Not that it mattered any longer. He was forever out of her reach, and not what she had wanted anyways. Sakura bit her lip and nodded at him. She hoped the gesture would appease him. It seemed to work because he turned away from her. What the hell did he want?

Sasuke turned to face Michi approaching him. He held his hand out to her. She gripped his hand between hers roughly.

"Lightning." She paused. "As an Uchiha, he has natural abilities for ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu that exceed most non-clan born. This particular Uchiha, however, shows a slight inclination towards taijutsu."

Sasuke smirked, pleased with his results.

Michi approached Sakura finally. The pink haired girl held out her hand for the woman to take. What if she was deemed powerless? Would Kakashi expel her from the team once again? Put her through another difficult task? So far, she only had her mind. Her jutsu arsenal and skills were barren.

"Earth" Michi stated calmly. Her chakra swirled through the girl's veins. This chakra was far less tumultuous than the last two she had read. "Not much chakra to this one. But, it seems well controlled. Genjutsu inclined."

Sakura heaved in a breath she had not known she was holding. Not only did she at least have affinities, her affinities were different from her teammates', which meant that she could add balance to the team. Useful. Good. Locking eyes with Kakashi, she clenched her jaw tight and the right corner of her lips twitched upwards. He nodded at her in response.

Michi dropped her hand and stepped away from the girl. She reached into a pocket on the inside of her coat and deposited three sets of two scrolls each onto the ground. "This should help you on your new mission." She smirked. "Good luck, Hatake planned something really fun for you." She shunshinned away.

Kakashi glanced towards the village. The townsfolk were beginning to emerge from their homes and set up shops, travel to jobs, and peruse the streets. "Naruto, you get the scrolls on the left, Sasuke the middle scrolls, Sakura the right. Don't open them now. Today, we will travel to your first training location."

The genin hurried to collect their scrolls.

"Location!? Where are we going, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto inquired. Five townsfolk turned to observe the brightly colored ninja on the bridge.

The grey haired man pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fuhai Village. One of the villages surrounding the capital of Fire Country. Now let's head off."

"But we don't have any supplies, Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said.

"Irrelevant. You won't need any supplies for this training session." He turned and started to run off in the direction of the forest. It was a slow, not chakra enhanced jog. It had to be slow enough for the students to keep up. As he predicted, the three soon followed after him.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are we gonna learn?" Naruto asked eagerly. He was already excited to get started on the two scrolls Michi had given him.

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. "Oh, very much, Naruto. Very, very much." As he ran, his hands spiraled through a series of hand seals. No reason why he shouldn't build up the speed and reaction rates of his cute little students while they approached their first training location.

Three small bolts of lightning sparked to life and chased after each of the genin.

Sakura resisted the urge to scream as she scrambled blindly between trees to avoid being captured by the spark. It almost got to her and she performed a substitution jutsu. The lightning crashed into the substitution and dissipated.

Sasuke grunted and rolled beneath the spark, causing it to crash into a tree ahead of him. He smirked.

The end of Naruto's jacket lit afire as the blonde ran just a tad too slowly to evade the spark. His eyes widened and he ran abruptly forward, still trying to outrun the thing.

Kakashi laughed and repeated the hand seals.

**Fuhai= rot, decay, depravity.**


	5. Part I: The Forge, Chapter IV

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters therein. I am not profiting off of this story in any way.**

**A/N: Here's a new update for you. Thanks for the continued support! The end of this chapter is kinda dark, and I felt kinda creepy writing it. But hey, it makes the story interesting. I tried to balance it with some lighthearted, Team Seven bonding moments. Also, Team Seven is getting stronger! And Sakura isn't falling back! Naruto is trying to learn subtleties, and Sasuke seems really lonely right now. Bonds will continue to grow. Characters will get stronger.**

**As always, let me know what you think!**

**~Hecate's Slumber**

A loud growl erupted from the forest to Hatake Kakashi's left. His two male students taunted each other as they struggled and failed to reach the top of their respective trees without using their hands. A splash in front of him alerted him to the fate of his third student. She had sank into the water after he had sent her skidding back across the length of the lake with a single push. With a smirk, he observed her as she managed to finely tune enough chakra to sloppily jump back to the surface of the water and balance precariously on top of it.

Wet, now darker pink hair clung to her forehead, and Sakura forced back a shudder as the evening wind slashed through the lightning produced holes in her already soaked clothing. Her ankles wobbled as she concentrated chakra into the soles of her bare feet and raised a kunai in front of her face. Green eyes narrowed into slits as she shakily bounced across the water to charge at Kakashi.

Kakashi stood in the center of the lake with one hand gripping a small book. His single, unconcealed eye did not look up at Sakura as she approached. He drew a kunai from his pouch and effortlessly deflected the girl's strike. She sent a timid, strength-deprived roundhouse kick to his hip, and he caught her ankle. "Faster, Sakura" he intoned before dropping her ankle.

The girl grunted and swiftly ducked under a lazy punch he sent towards her. She almost submerged herself again as her weight shifted dramatically from the move.

"Widen your stance, girl."

She nodded and moved her shaky legs farther apart. Quads and calf muscles strained against the tiny amount of chakra she forced herself to use to stay at the surface of the water. With her limited reserves, she did not know how much longer she could last. Yet, she had asked for this special training. When she had succeeded on the tree climbing chakra exercise on her fist attempt, she had annoyed Kakashi to teach her more. Remembering a technique from one of her textbooks, Sakura smirked as she thought of a way to maybe impress her sensei for once. The woman behind the technique stood as an inspiration to Sakura and numerous kunoichi alike. To gain extra power, Sakura growled a loud battle cry, sprinted towards Kakashi, leapt into the air, directed a tiny bit of extra chakra into feet, and sent a jump kick to Kakashi's jaw.

The Hatake smirked. So she was already infusing chakra into her taijutsu attacks. Very Tsunade. Interesting. Still, the girl did not have enough chakra to sustain such attacks. In a blurred motion, he sidestepped her attack. Her momentum carried her crashing down into the water two meters behind him. This time, her entire form went under.

Sakura swam to the surface and coughed while swiping hair out of her eyes. Her lungs and legs burned badly. Somewhere during the fight, her ponytail had also become undone. Long strands of pink hair tangled around her arms.

Kakashi glanced upwards towards the rising crescent moon. He had stopped running with his students at sunset. One more day of running at that pace would take them to Fuhai. Four days of similar running had already passed. On the first night, he had not even tried to train them. His lightning had burned several holes through their clothes and produced minor burn marks across their delicate battle-deprived flesh. Naruto had taken the brunt of the nastier lightning-induced wounds. However, as the days progressed, he noticed that their collective pace and reaction rates were gradually improving, despite the fact that he had continuously drove them to the brink of chakra exhaustion every night. On the second night, he had started teaching them chakra control exercises. For the boys, that meant tree climbing. For Sakura, learning to fight on top of water seemed more worthwhile. It was slow progress for Kakashi, but they needed to learn the basics. He turned back towards Sakura as she shakily jumped onto the surface of the water again only to plunge back in. "That will be enough, Sakura."

He walked across the lake and onto the forest floor. Amusement sparked in his grey eye as he noticed that his student had chosen to jump haphazardly across the water after him instead of simply swimming ashore. The girl was stubborn. He had to give her that. Though such foolishness could end her life. He thought of Rin, and his amusement died out. Once ashore, he went to check on his male students.

-0-

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other. Naruto sucked in a breath and tried to force himself to be calm, as Sakura had instructed him to. He closed his eyes and breathed in the evening scent of musk, wet leaves, and the smoke from a freshly started fire. He silenced his thoughts and imagined himself alone in the forest, surrounded by an endless expanse of green and drowned into the quiet, intricate noises of traveling animals. After a few brief moments, his eyes opened. He stepped back from the tree and did not glance to Sasuke. With a final exhale, he channeled chakra into his feet and ran towards the tree. He made it up three feet. Then halfway. Three fourths. He felt his control beginning to slip. He ignored the feeling and did his best to tighten the chakra. With a final burst of energy, his fingers narrowly gripped the top branch of the tree just before he would have plummeted to the bottom. With an ecstatic grin, he pulled himself up onto the branch. "Ha! I did it! Suck it, teme! I got up here before you did!" Naruto called giddily.

"Look to your right, dobe" a flat, empty male voice sounded.

Naruto turned his eyes to the source. In the tree next to him, Sasuke sat on the highest branch of his tree as well. Naruto glared. "What!? When did you get up there teme!?"

Sasuke smirked. The expression irritated Naruto. "I got up here when you were meditating."

"No way! There is no way you beat me!" His hands curled into fists. So far, he felt like the weakest link on the team. Sasuke was a prodigy and had already mastered fire jutsus that Naruto could barely comprehend. Meanwhile, Sakura's chakra control was so outstanding, that she had completed this exercise on her first try and had had private training lessons with Kakashi for the past three nights. He had finally thought that he didn't finish last at something….only for his hope to come spiraling down. How could he become Hokage when he could never seem to finish as anything but last?

"Just face it deadlast, you're a disgrace as a ninja" Sasuke taunted. He effortlessly jumped from the height of the tree and landed unscathed at the bottom in a crouched position. He had just barely kept ahead of Naruto in that exercise. How close he had come to be the last of his team to master the exercise scared him. He was an Uchiha. Naruto and Sakura, as far as he knew, were civilian born. Yet, Naruto had chakra reserves that might easily outmatch his own. He had watched Naruto over the last couple days. The other boy seemed to have an endless supply of chakra. Even after running for a solid twelve hours whilst evading Kakashi's lightning balls, and even after wasting much more chakra than necessary while attempting to master tree climbing, Naruto would only act tired for a few minutes before bouncing back into an eternally energetic state that annoyed and angered Sasuke. Meanwhile, Sakura's chakra control shamed the both of them. For once, Sasuke was not entirely convinced that he was the absolute strongest genin on even just his team. If he could not best civilian born genin, how could he ever compare to Itachi? He flipped his hair out of his eyes and started to walk towards the fire that Sakura had started building near their camp.

"Teme! You'll pay for that comment! I'm going to beat you so bad one day!" Naruto growled. Sasuke made no response. Naruto jumped clumsily from the tree and landed in a tangle of limbs at the bottom. He rested his head against the grass and made no move to rise. He sighed.

A pair of sandals stepped in front of Naruto's line of sight. The blonde boy glanced up to see Kakashi standing over him.

Kakashi's single visible eye stared down at Naruto. "Get up, Naruto. Sakura and I caught fish for dinner earlier. Surely, you want to eat?" His tone was nonchalant.

Naruto mumbled a short statement about rude temes before rising to his feet.

Kakashi eyed the jinchuriki. The boy would be a lethal weapon in time. In time, that is, if the boy kept working hard. "You and Sasuke completed the tree climbing exercise within seconds of each other." The statement hung in the air with no congratulations or well dones, or heartfelt consolations. Kakashi simply stated a fact, but it was a fact that Naruto needed to hear.

"Within seconds?" The boy echoed.

"Mmmhm."

Blue eyes lit up with renewed hope.

-0-

Once all four members of team seven seated themselves around the fire and took in their helping of fish, Kakashi glanced up from his meal and eyed his three weary students. This night was far colder than the last two. Wind bit against their faces. Sakura visibly shivered, despite the fire having somewhat dried her clothes and hair. She sat huddled against Naruto. He had taken off his orange coat and wrapped it around her shoulders and sat before the fire in a black T-shirt. Sasuke sat farther away from his other two teammates but not near Kakashi either. The team sat in a strange triangular formation around the fire. Kakashi frowned. Sasuke remained ever distant. Perhaps the training in Fuhai would amend such a distance. He took out his book and barely glanced at his students. "Tomorrow, we will reach Fuhai. Once there, your training will fall into the hands of an ally in the city."

"What!? But Sasuke-teme and I just mastered tree climbing! And we still gotta read the scrolls umm Michi-san gave us!" Naruto stared at his sensei.

A held up palm attempted to silence Naruto. "My ally will teach you certain valuable shinobi skills with greater ease than I could. And you will read your scrolls tomorrow and gain a general understanding of your two new jutsus prior to meeting my ally." He placed his book down and pulled a scroll out of his pack. After biting into his thumb just hard enough to draw blood, Kakashi spread the blood across a seal over the scroll. A ragged, greyish-brown cloth bag emerged. "Reach into this bag and pick out an item. These items will be the only nin-tools you will be allowed to keep while training under my ally, and they will inform my ally what type of training each one of you will specifically partake in." He extended the bag to Sasuke first.

Black eyes narrowed as a pale hand dug into the sack. He felt something hard. Running his thumb along the edge of the hard object, he felt a sharp point. In fact, it was really sharp. His hand gripped the object. It seemed sturdy. Compared to the other objects in the bag, he mused that this would do. He pulled the object quickly out. Black eyes widened. In his hand, Sasuke held an ivory white bone with one of the ends sharpened to a point. The size of the object made Sasuke wonder if the bone was human. He thought initially back to the massacre. All of the bones protruding from all of the bodies. He dropped the bone before he could even register his grip slackening. He pulled his knees to his chest and sat there in silence.

"What teme? Can't handle a bone what kind of ninja are you?" Naruto taunted, still somewhat sore from Sasuke's earlier jab.

"Naruto! Shut up" Sakura hissed and elbowed the blonde boy in the ribs.

Sasuke made no response and stared blankly out into the night.

As Naruto watched the black haired asshole in front of him, his expression softened.

Kakashi held the bag in front of Naruto next. The jinchuriki reached into the bag and he pricked his finger on a sharp point. He yelped and hastily withdrew the offending object. He awkwardly stared at an empty syringe in his hands. "What's this for?"

Kakashi did not answer and held the bag out to Sakura next. "As you have chosen last, you get the final two items, Sakura."

She raised a suspicious eyebrow to her sensei. Was she being given some kind of accommodation because he thought she was weaker than them or because she was a girl? She bit her lip and plunged her hand into the bag. She gripped two relatively soft and pointless items. One seemed to be some sort of cylindrical tube and the other had a silky texture. Upon withdrawing the items, her eyebrows furrowed as she found herself holding a long red ribbon and a tube of purple mascara. "Seriously?"

Naruto snickered and crawled around the fire to playfully clap a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. A still wide-eyed, silent Sasuke turned to face Naruto. Naruto pointed at Sakura's hands before cupping his own hands over Sasuke's ear and whispering. "Aren't we lucky we didn't choose those? We'd look ridiculous wearing girly makeup and a ribbon!" Naruto's intended whisper came out as more of a yell.

Sasuke winced and pushed Naruto away from his ears. "Dobe."

Sakura seethed at Naruto's comment. She turned to Kakashi. "Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? This was so rigged…"

Kakashi's eye crinkled into what Sakura could only identify as some sort of amused smile. "Those will be your tools. As for what was rigged, in the ninja world, chance, if present at all, is always your enemy. Look underneath the underneath and you'll discover just why you have the objects that you do. But now, we'll go to bed. Goodnight." With that, he shunshinned off to a distant corner of their campsite.

Sakura growled with frustration while Naruto continued to snicker at her and try to get Sasuke to join his snickering.

Sasuke had already deciphered part of the underneath. The bone referenced the massacre. His sensei was a ruthless asshole to bring that up. The ribbon and makeup represented Sakura's former obsession with looks and what he deemed "useless girly things" over being an actual ninja. As for Naruto, he could not decipher what the syringe meant. Something medical? Something experimental? Maybe Naruto got his weird endless energy from some kind of weird drug? That could explain why the old woman had insinuated that Naruto was a monster as well as why the general public seemed to dislike him. If it was a powerful enough forbidden nin-drug, maybe he had to do bad things to get it? He stared at Sakura in an attempt to communicate his suspicions with her. She was the smartest kunoichi in their class. She had to know something.

Sakura held up the ribbon in front of her face and sighed. It reminded her of Ino and that terrible moment where Sakura had ended their friendship because of Sasuke. Sakura missed Ino greatly. She decided to amend their friendship when she got back. Suddenly, the bare skin on Sakura's arms and legs prickled. She instinctively glanced up to find two black, abysmal eyes staring at her from across the fire. The intensity in his eyes made her breathing stutter. She shivered. He nodded to her and glanced towards Naruto's hand. The syringe? She nodded as well, having no idea what their little interaction was supposed to indicate at all. Did he want her to take Naruto's syringe? She bit her lip as she thought of their conversation the previous day. Underneath the underneath…both hers and Sasuke's objects obviously reflected their pasts. But a syringe? Maybe it was a clue to understanding Naruto. But what could it mean? And is that even what Sasuke was trying to tell her? She glanced back up to him and tilted her head to the side.

He met her gaze with a steady, unrelenting stare. What had she figured out?

It was Naruto's turn to put out the fire for the night. He rose and gathered water from the lake to toss onto the fire. The night wind howled against the three figures. Unlike Kakashi, they had not packed for the trip. This left them without bedrolls because of course their sensei could not be bothered with providing them with something as simple as decent comfort.

Sakura curled against the base of a tree. She had surrendered Naruto's jacket and was still shaking slightly due to her still wet hair and clothes.

Sasuke curled at the base of a different tree.

Naruto glanced between his two teammates and sighed as he hefted on his jacket. "Guys, this is stupid."

Sakura's teeth clattered as she opened viridian eyes to squint at azure. "W-what is stupid?"

"It's cold, and we don't even have blankets. This might sound weird, but we should just sleep next to each other and stuff."

"I am not cuddling you, dobe." Sasuke responded while drawing his arm protectors further up his arms to provide more warmth.

Sakura giggled. "Well…you guys did kiss…" She stuck out a pink tongue at Naruto. She felt an angry wave of dark chakra hit her instantly. She flinched and whipped her head over to face Sasuke. She bit her lip and timidly stuck her tongue out at him as well.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled. "It was an accident! And no, teme, I don't want to cuddle you either."

Sakura turned to Naruto and giggled again. "So what? You want us to just sleep kinda near each other? That won't help much with warmth."

"What if you're in the middle, Sakura-chan, and both of us go on either side of you?" Naruto asked. His blue eyes looked hopeful.

Sasuke remained quiet.

Sakura thought about cuddling between two boys and blushed. It would be the first time boys had ever been that close to her. Another roll of the wind caused her to shiver again. "Well….um…sure…I guess that could work. If Sasuke's okay with it?" Her gaze darted to her third teammate.

"Hn." He stood up and walked over to Sakura. "If this is the only way we'll get any sleep" he murmured as he laid down behind Sakura. His front pressed firmly against her back, and his hands rested at his sides. It was logical. Necessity.

Sakura flinched again and could feel her cheeks burning. His larger form could engulf her. And it was warm. Oh so warm and dry. And pressed against her. Sakura halted her thoughts before they could get naughty. Fangirl or not, Sakura was a pervert.

Naruto grinned. "Alright, he's clearly up for it." Naruto bounded over and crouched down in front of Sakura. "Um…I'll keep my back to you so it's not like…um awkward or anything…cause I mean if we laid face to face…it could…um you know…" Naruto scratched the back of his head as a bright pink crept onto his face.

Sakura hid her face with her hair and nodded. "Um, yeah. Great. No problem."

Naruto laid down in front of her. "Is this too awkward, Sakura-chan? Lying between me and teme?"

She noted that his voice was softer when he was embarrassed. "No, totally fine. I mean, we're a team. Stuff more awkward than this is bound to happen eventually." She felt Sasuke's muscles tense against her back.

Naruto laughed shakily. He felt Sakura's hands curl up against his back. He was laying with his crush. Practically spooning. He never really anticipated being the little spoon though. Still, that barely mattered. He felt giddy and almost squirmed with excitement, but stopped himself.

"Hn. Don't snore, dobe" Sasuke sounded.

Naruto instantly felt less giddy.

The three eventually fell asleep.

Hatake Kakashi smirked. It seemed that his team was at least bonding somewhat. On the first night, all three of them would have blatantly refused. He glanced towards the little cluster. It was adorable. Such cute, cute little genin he had. He almost felt bad about the training he was sending them into. It was a less extreme version of ROOTS training. Re-subject them to their emotional baggage and strip away the impairments of that baggage. Of course, the baggage could never be fully eliminated, but training could lessen its impact in a battle, and that could either save or slaughter one of his precious students.

-0-

When morning came, Sasuke was the first of the genin to wake up. He opened his eyes to find himself consumed by a world of cotton candy pink. He blinked several times in confusion before realizing it was hair. Sakura's hair. He felt something soft and warm beneath his hands. He was gripping her. His hands slid up and down two inches in an effort to try and discern what part of her he was holding onto. He met nothing but flat expanse. He concluded he was holding her waist. Okay. He opened his eyes and moved backwards from her after untwining his hands from around her. His dreams had been pleasant for once. In them, he was a child again. He had been playing some game with a strange blonde boy and a vague girl who smelled like cinnamon. He glanced at the bone next to the campfire with apprehension. Whatever their sensei was planning was cruel, but something inside of Sasuke told him that he needed to face death again. He had to become insensitive to it. He had to kill one day, one man.

The morning air was still cold. Sasuke stretched with the rising sun and watched his two teammates sleep. Sakura huddled further into Naruto. Her tiny hands circled his shoulders and clasped in front of his chest. Naruto hummed a noise of contentment and squirmed slightly in front of Sakura. That same awkwardness he had felt throughout the trip settled again. His teammates seemed so close, and he seemed so far. Sasuke turned his head away and stalked into the woods to practice his taijutsu.

-0-

After another day of dodging D ranked lightning attacks through the forest while traveling, the genin of team seven were motioned to halt at the edge of a tree line. Beyond, they could hear brusque voices screaming at each other. Different prices, different exotic goods being offered. The overwhelming smell of piss, shit, and smoke filled their lungs and almost gagged them.

Naruto pinched his nose. "Is this Fuhai?"

"Yes" Kakashi answered. "Take out your scrolls and read them while we wait for my ally. You can try to work on them as well."

The phrase "my ally" struck Sakura as strange. It was not "friend" or "acquaintance." And he never used a name. Who was this person? She reached into her pack and first extracted the genjutsu scroll. The technique did not seem particularly impressive at first. It was an illusion to make the user's movement seem slower than it actually was. Teisoku no Jutsu. She smirked though. With her fight style, this could work. Especially if she utilized her terrain well enough. She quickly memorized the instructions on the scroll before moving onto the second one. Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu[i]. Her smirk widened. She had been worried that she would have been provided with useless techniques, yet so far she was satisfied. She read over how to burrow underground, grab an opponent's ankle, and then trap him in the ground with only his head sticking out.

Sasuke read the elemental jutsu scroll first. His brow furrowed. Raiton: Denki Senbon no Jutsu. It was too subtle for Sasuke's tastes, yet he supposed it could work. An opponent would think ordinary senbon were approaching and would not realize that these senbon were made of lightning which would hurt much worse and could send the victim into shock or paralysis, depending on the strength of the lightning. The second scroll proved to be a less than thrilling taijutsu style attack sequence that could also double as a defense sequence. Still, he supposed it could come in handy.

Naruto opened both of his scrolls at once. Both were elemental jutsus, as that was a huge part of ninjutsu. He received a Futon: Senpu Taegatai. Unrelenting whirlwind. Naruto mused that it sounded pretty damn cool. He quickly read it over and immediately attempted to perform it to no avail. He tried again with a similar result. He groaned and hastily read the second scroll. Futon: Ridairekuto. This one was defensive. A wind attack to block and redirect projectiles. Again, he tried. Nothing happened. Naruto frowned.

-0-

Hours later, each of the genin was able to produce a little bit of each of their techniques. However, none of them had mastered the new jutsus. Naruto sat sulking under a tree while using large amounts of chakra to try to get the techniques to work, Sasuke reread his scrolls for the umpteenth time, and Sakura kept patiently practicing.

Their efforts stopped when they heard the sound of heavy shoes crunching against the grass. The three genin stilled and trained their eyes on the edge of the forest. Who was this ally of Kakashi-sensei? This person did not walk like a shinobi. Too heavy. Yet, the steps seemed deliberate and carefully timed. The weight shifted between each step was precise and monitored. Each genin was suspicious and slightly scared. They clutched their "nin-tools" selected from the previous night, although Sakura could come up with no real way to use her objects. At least Sasuke and Naruto had things with pointy ends that could be used for stabbing. She almost snorted at the thought of a ninja attacking someone with a mascara brush.

Sasuke felt strange clasping the bone between his hand. It felt wrong. Dirty. He wanted to throw it onto the ground.

Naruto first saw this "ally" of Kakashi's. High, platform black sandals slid around dainty, lily-white feet with painted red toes. Smooth, naked legs descended upwards until they disappeared at the thighs behind a heavy red kimono-esque shirt with gold designs and a large gold obi fastened around the wearer's waist. The top of the kimono fell open to reveal ample cleavage and slender shoulders. Naruto's eyes finally met the woman's face. She had dark brown eyes and long black hair pulled into a high bun that was held in place with a rose. Her lips were painted red and dark black paint outlined her aristocratically slanted eyes. With her heels, she was only a couple inches shorter than Kakashi.

The woman half smirked at the genin. She turned to Kakashi. "Welcome, Hatake-san. These are the three you mentioned in your letter?" Her voice sounded like a snake-like purr. Venom dripping down silk. She turned and eyed each of the genin.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. I don't mean to jeopardize your long-standing…" He paused and exchanged a smug look with the woman before continuing with "…studies here, Niwa-chan."

The three genin cast wide-eyed and narrow eyed looks at each other. Naruto watched the woman. Niwa-chan. So this was someone Kakashi-sensei knew…intimately? Intimately how? He hoped that it was more of a friendship thing. But Niwa was a last name, not a first. He frowned and glanced to Sakura for confirmation of his confusion.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Naruto, bit her lip, and glanced to Sasuke.

Sasuke caught her eyes and noticed how her teeth grazed her bottom lip. He made a nearly imperceptible nod at her and then turned to acknowledge Naruto with a raised eyebrow. For the time being, they were his allies against whatever Kakashi had put them up against.

A high-pitched laugh from Niwa regained the attention of the genin. "Of course not. The objective is the same as in the letter, no? I get these three for a week. You want me to lend them to my benefactors and for them to try to develop their own, unique…" She paused as her lips twisted into a viper smirk. "Abilities. And…information on my benefactors to aid my studies. On the final day, you would like to see them escape Fuhai, my benefactors, and of course my guards?"

Kakashi had been watching his genin interact. Interaction would aid the team dynamic greatly. His eye fixated on Niwa. "Correct."

Niwa made a low bow. "Perfect, Hatake-san." She stepped carefully up to the three genin and glanced down at the objects in their hands. She stopped first in front of Naruto. "Syringe. You will meet with Kenta-san tomorrow." She then sauntered over to Sakura. "Ribbon and mascara." Her red lips twisted into a smile. "You will work with me, child." She ran a hand through the girl's hair. "Pink. Exotic. You will meet with many, many benefactors." She placed a hand on her hip as she stood over Sasuke. "Hm. Such a pretty boy." Her hands traced the bone he held. "Too bad. You will work with Yori-san, tomorrow." Her head darted up. "Hatake-san, take their weapons, forehead protectors, clan specific markings, anything suggesting that they are anything but children."

Kakashi held out a large bag and his three students deposited their weapon pouches and forehead protectors into the bag. The forehead protector was surrendered reluctantly by Naruto. Sasuke took off his blue, Uchiha clan shirt and tossed it into the bag, Naruto took off his jacket, and Sakura awkwardly stripped off her red shirt with its Haruno emblem off. This left Sasuke shirtless, Naruto in a black T-shirt, and Sakura in a mesh top with black breast wrappings. Naruto and Sasuke avoided looking at Sakura, and she avoided looking at Sasuke. The three also relinquished their nin shoes to Kakashi.

Niwa nodded. "Well, follow me then, lovelies."

-0-

The genin followed Niwa away from their sensei and into Fuhai. The horrid scent increased as they reached the town.

Naruto visibly grimaced. "This place really stinks..." The patrons of the city were streaked with dirt and had harsh, shrill voices. They were dressed in off-white, brown, and black simple garments. Many held mugs filled with a nauseating brown substance. Some openly sharpened knives in the market square.

"Shh, Naruto." Sakura held up a hand and glanced at the numerous large, greasy men that peered at their little group. She fidgeted nervously as their gazes bounced from Niwa's breasts and butt, generally ignored Sasuke and Naruto, and then settled on her own, small, wrapped breasts for a moment before returning to Niwa.

Some of the men did not glance at Niwa at all. Some of them stared only at Sakura. She could hear them grunting to each other. The word "pink" met her ears frequently. She blushed.

Sasuke felt eyes on him as well. Older women dressed in loose, short garments that barely concealed their bodies whispered to each other and cackled as they eyed his chest and his stomach. Anger rolled through him.

-0-

Niwa led them through the market square just as the sun was setting. Decrepit, rotted wooden buildings lined the square. Each was two stories high and so close to the other buildings that only narrow, lightless alleys burrowed between buildings. Some of the buildings were missing whole walls. An iron grate was slammed down on one of the open sides of one of the buildings signifying that a shop was closing. Niwa halted in front of a boisterous, loud wooden building with a second floor balcony. Numerous women dressed like Niwa leaned against the balcony and simpered as men and other women traced kisses across their necks and chests.

Naruto stared up at the interactions with wide eyes. He blushed. He had only read books about stuff like this. He had never actually seen it before.

Sasuke did not look at the women.

Sakura did her best not to cast curious looks up at the balcony.

Niwa turned to the genin. "We will go through a side door. Do not speak unless spoken to. If you let information that I do not like slip, you will be returned to your master and answer to his disapproval."

"Master—" Naruto started. A quick glare from Sasuke and an elbow to the ribs by Sakura cut off his question. _Oh, Kakashi-sensei is the master. But she can't say that without giving away information. _Naruto nodded to his teammates, and they visibly relaxed their muscles.

Niwa sent a shrewd, narrow-eyed, lips pursed look at Naruto before taking the three down an alley to the side of the building. They stopped in front of a rusted, metal side door. She extracted a key from her cleavage and opened the door. They emerged into a dim, sparsely lit hallway. She led them past several doors before ushering them into a tiny room with some hay decorating one corner and a swinging oil lamp hanging from one of the wooden rafters overhead. "This room will be your home for the next week, lovelies. You will eat, drink, and sleep here. It will also be the only time you are reunited with each other. Some of my benefactors will come shortly to assess you." She eyed them over. An expression of distaste contorted her pretty features. "Take off your remaining clothes. They are too garish to pass in front of my benefactors." She leaned against the door, as if waiting for them to obey her. "Also, put your nin-tools into the hay pile. You should hide them for this part."

Sasuke moved first. He quickly took off his arm protectors and slid down his white shorts before tossing them into the pile of hay with the bone.

Sakura's eyes darted to Sasuke upon his quick movement. As her brain finally registered that he was following Niwa's orders, she hurriedly glanced away with bright pink cheeks.

He turned away from Niwa and Sakura as he hesitantly pulled down his black underwear.

Naruto moved next. He took off his black shirt, his orange pants, and his green boxers in a few quick movements before tossing them into the hay as Sasuke did. He did not look at anything but the ground.

Niwa tapped her foot expectantly as she waited for Sakura.

Sakura sighed and undressed. She also tossed her garments into the hay. She sat down on the ground and curled her knees to her chest. She dared not glance at either of her teammates. Her entire face was bright red.

Niwa sighed. "Very modest. Relax more. I'll be back with my benefactors." She spun on her heel and left the room with a quick slam of the door.

"Sakura-chan?" An uncharacteristically quiet voice sounded.

"Yes, Naruto?" Sakura asked without moving her head up.

"We were just sold into human trafficking, weren't we?"

"I…yes."

"Hn." Sasuke briefly entered the conversation.

She heard movement and glanced up to see that the boys had seated themselves on either side of her with their knees drawn up their chests like hers were.

"It's only a week, though. We're ninja. We have to do this kind of stuff. We'll learn what we need to, practice our jutsus in here every night, and then impress Kakashi-sensei with our new skills" Sakura replied with a cheery fake smile. For some reason, she doubted that Ino's team was currently in a similar position. "Just, use what Kakashi taught us. Underneath the underneath. And we have to act like little, scared children too. These people don't know we're ninjas."

"Yeah! We'll make it through, guys. Believe it! Once we get to escape, these assholes won't know hit them!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Dobe, you're being too loud." Sasuke whispered.

"Stupid teme…"

They heard footsteps down the hall and loud, bragging speech. The genin quieted and huddled close together. Sakura was afraid. Whether the boys were afraid or whether they were just acting was unclear to her.

* * *

**[i]**** This jutsu is listed as D-ranked on the Wikipedia. It's the one Kakashi uses on Sasuke during the original bell test. **


	6. Part I: The Forge, Chapter V

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters therein.**

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Hopefully this chapter excites everyone! So this chapter is significantly more messed up than the last. Not every chapter will be this bad. The Fuhai arc in particular is going to be pretty dark, but there will be lighter parts of this piece as a whole. Perpetual darkness is not only hard to write (stuff ceases to be shocking and just ends up being bland) but isn't what I wanted to quite convey anyways. Feel free to PM me with any plot-related questions, and I will answer. Also, this chapter focuses a little more on Naruto and Sasuke, as I have spent a lot of time on Sakura recently. **

**I really appreciate all the support! You all are awesome! Continue to show it please 3 **

**~Hecate's Slumber**

_The Forge: Chapter V_

Wood creaked as the worn door swung open. Niwa entered first in a swirl of red silk and peachy aroma. Three heavy-footed males followed her into the room. The largest of the men strode ahead of the other two. The lankiest clung to the back wall, and the third man, dressed in a nearly transparent white chiffon robe stood beside Niwa.

Niwa outstretched a pale, delicate arm to the three genin huddled against the ground. "These are the new arrivals. I intend to keep them as my own little pets, but I am willing to lease them during the day" her soft, poisonous accent sliced through the still, dank air. She sauntered over toward the genin with a lazy but powerful swing of the hips.

Niwa knelt in front of Sakura and put a hand on the girl's face. Sakura flinched and edged away from the touch. Niwa and the three males laughed. "Don't be shy, my darling."

Her hand moved away from Sakura to rest on Sasuke's chin. "You all are far too bashful." He yanked his chin out of her grip.

She laughed and stood as she ruffled Naruto's hair. "Stand, all of you." Her voice gained volume and a harsh, commanding edge.

The three genin stood. Sakura collected her hair in front of her so that the loose, long pink strands somewhat concealed her breasts. She stared at the floor. She was dully aware of the fact that acting terrified was quite easy.

Sasuke glanced up at the men in the room with a defiant, bitter glare. He stood with his shoulders propped back and his stance wide and open. Acting be damned, he would never tremble for someone.

Naruto glanced at his teammates in uncertainty how to carry himself. His eyes avoided Sakura and landed on Sasuke. He mimicked Sasuke's posture. If Sasuke refused to show fear, Naruto decided that he wouldn't show fear either. He studied the men that Niwa had led in.

The man standing in front of the others was tan, bald, and clad in low-slung animal hide pants and an open black leather vest. The bald man had rippling biceps and abdominal muscles. A gold band clung to the dip between his left bicep and his shoulder muscle. Deep scars jutted across the smooth expanse of his head and face. The man's physique towered over everyone else in the room. This man's slit, jade eyes scanned the three.

Naruto narrowed his eyes when the man smirked upon observing Sakura. Dirty pervert.

When the bald man finally spoke, his voice was deep and gravely. "Well, Niwa-chan. I would love to taste pinky's maidenhood" he paused. The other two men in the room laughed. Both Sasuke and Naruto fidgeted. The man continued "but Emiko-chan would not be too pleased with me. Which one of these has the highest constitution?"

Niwa smiled. "That would be Naruto, the blonde boy. His constitution should prove quite satisfying."

The large man grunted and walked over to Naruto. Naruto watched the man. He carefully held his tongue. He wanted to hit this man. How dare he say something so perverted about Sakura-chan!? This was a freaking old monolith of a man.

The large man circled Naruto, eyeing him carefully. "He's a bit short, and definitely skinnier than most of the ones I take. You think he can withstand it? If he dies, I'm not paying you back for loss of property, Niwa."

"I won't die." Naruto bit his tongue hard. He was a human. Not some fucking piece of property! And just what did this man want with him that he could die from!? Naruto, not for the first time, found himself hating his sensei. What kind of teacher sold his students into human trafficking?

The large man smirked at Naruto's statement. "Got a confident brat, huh Niwa?"

Naruto clenched his fists.

Niwa narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "Yes, he's an outspoken one. But this one is special. Very high constitution. His family tested food for noble brats. Lady Kiyoko's precious, sniveling baby boys, I believe. This brat" she nudged Naruto roughly in the ribs. "Can most certainly handle large shipments, Kenta-san."

Kenta grunted. "I'll cut off his tongue, and he'll serve me just fine."

Naruto's eyes widened. He was about to retort when he felt Sakura step on his foot. He glanced to her, and she sent him a fierce eyed look. He understood, and he shut up.

Niwa shook her head. "That is hardly necessary. He is harmless. Plus...he is my property. I would have him keep his tongue for reasons I am sure you understand."

The men in the room burst into laughter. Kenta raised his eyebrows. "Eh, dirty lady Niwa-chan, making a little boy do that."

Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion while Sakura shuddered. Sasuke remained impassive.

Niwa waved a hand dismissively. "No different than your comment about little Sakura. But Naruto will serve you well. I'll prepare the contract?"

Kenta eyed the blonde again before nodding. "He'll work. I need a new vessel."

Naruto grimaced at the word "vessel." Vessel for what?

"I'll make the arrangement, Kenta-san." She bowed hastily before turning to one of the other men in the room. "Yori-san, I believe I have someone for you as well."

A lanky man removed himself from his position leaning against a wall. The man was clothed head to toe in a black cloak that partially obscured his tan face. Only thin, bluish chapped lips, the edge of a crooked nose, and a thin veil of long midnight hair peaked out from beneath the expanse of the cloak. "Aye? You found me a rat willing to take out my garbage?" His voice came forth as a husky whisper.

Niwa turned to him with her painted, plotting grin. "Of course. Sasuke will handle your duties wordlessly."

Sasuke glared at the woman.

Yori slinked up to Sasuke. Long black hair hung over the boy's head as Yori loomed over him. "Ever seen a body, boy?"

Sasuke turned his glare indignantly up towards the man and remained silent.

Naruto and Sakura fidgeted. Naruto worried about the pain the memories caused Sasuke. Sakura worried that Sasuke's reaction would be violent and blow their cover.

Seconds passed. Sasuke had not moved. His glare harshened. It was like a vortex of hatred. Bottomless. Tumultuous. Deadly. Sakura glanced to his face and felt the air being sucked from her lungs. She glanced away to look at Naruto. The blonde seemed strangely pensive.

A loud wheezing sound filled the room. It was high-pitched and squeaked like a not quite dead bird shot clean through with an arrow. It was the sound of Yori laughing. "Good. Good. This one will do just fine."

Niwa smirked. "I'll prepare your contract as well? This one comes from-"

Yori held up a hand to silence her. "I don't need to know a rat's history. A rat is a rat and will do just fine. Get the contract and send him over come nightfall tomorrow."

Niwa mimicked her bow from earlier. "Of course, Yori-san." She turned to glance at the other man in this room, who up until that point had remained silent. "Souma-chan, I will instruct the girl. If that is, you find her a valuable addition to my shows."

The man in the chiffon robe sashayed forward. The airy fabric swished against his thin legs. Only thin strips of silk beneath the chiffon prevented the garment from being entirely translucent. The man had a long blonde braid that spiraled down his back and was tied with a white ribbon. He stopped before Sakura. He reached past her hair, and his fingers ghosted across the skin of her neck and between her breasts.

Sakura clenched her eyes shut.

The man's fingers danced onto her breast and pinched her nipple.

She squeaked and her eyes shot open.

Faster than any of the men could understand, Sasuke's hand latched onto Souma's wrist in an almost fracturing grip. Naruto's hand gripped the man's forearm and sharp, jagged nails embedded themselves into Souma's skin.

Souma smirked and removed his hand from her. "Protective of the little girl, huh?" He glanced back at Kenta and Yori. "You two will have fun housebreaking these dogs." He turned to face Niwa. "As for her, pink…is exotic. Rarities will attract many guests to your show." His smirk turned slimy as he glanced down her body. "She will do quite well."

Sakura whimpered. It was an act, but damn she wanted to rip Souma's tendons. Upon her whimper, Sasuke tightened his grip, and Naruto's nails drew thin trails of blood.

Kenta laughed. "Protecting their precious pink cunt, huh? Watch yourself, Souma."

Niwa growled. "Sasuke. Naruto. Off, now!" She yelled. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances before dropping their hands from Souma.

Souma withdrew his hand from Sakura. "But she will do well, Niwa-chan. Especially if you personally instruct her. It is a sight that I daresay I won't be able to resist."

The woman laughed with a rough, crude sound. "Yeah? You won't be touching her maidenhead, Souma. She's rare. You're not rich enough to buy her cunt."

Kenta's loud, boisterous laughter filled the room.

Sakura's breathing hitched in anger. She clenched her fists.

Naruto laced his hand with Sakura's in an effort to comfort her.

Sasuke stepped slightly in front of Sakura. He shielded her right side from the other occupants of the room. These men disgusted him. Sakura was a ninja. Civilian born, maybe, but she was too damn good to be touched and prodded at by sleazy old men.

Souma waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, fine, Niwa. Ever stingy for such a graceful woman." He bowed lowly. "If you have no other need for me, I will depart and bless the other wenches with my delightful presence." He let himself out of the room.

Sakura exhaled, and Naruto squeezed her hand. He still did not release her hand.

Yori glanced to Kenta. "We will be leaving as well. We have another transaction to take care of, right Kenta?" His whispery voice unnerved Sasuke.

"Yes." Kenta kissed Niwa on the cheek. "Goodnight Niwa-chan. I'll collect my brat tomorrow."

The other two men exited.

Niwa turned to the genin. "The girl did well. Boys, you need to be more submissive. I'll return with servant clothes for you to wear. Remember the conditions your master and I established." Niwa also left the room.

The sound of her heels clicking down the hall gradually faded.

Sakura crumpled onto the ground. The boys sat down on either side of her. Nobody looked at the others' bodies.

Naruto stared at the door. "What conditions?"

Sasuke slapped his forehead. "Seriously, dobe? That happened an hour ago…"

"Well I need to know! We gather information, right? But what about? Where? Who do we report to?"

"We don't know. We were thrown into this with minimal information" Sasuke responded. He sighed and reclined onto his back and stared up at the slightly damp ceiling above him. "Niwa is the closest thing we have to an ally now, so we follow her."

Sakura bit her lip. "Fine. But I am not sleeping with anyone."

"Hn."

"Like hell you are! I'll kill them if they touch you!" Naruto yelled.

"Ow! Naruto, stop screaming!" Sakura covered her ears. "And no, you won't get the chance. I'll kill them first."

Niwa returned with two scratchy starched grey tunics for Naruto and Sasuke. The unfitted tunics fell to their knees. The third garment was a white kimono-esque shirt with a red floral pattern for Sakura. The garment fell to her upper thighs and was cinched at the waist with a red obi. Niwa glanced at the genin. "Oh, and this room is soundproof. If I were you, I might practice those jutsus Kakashi gave you. Remember, you have a week to escape. Remember, get me information to help my studies. Goodnight, little ones." She spun and left the room.

The three young genin started to practice their jutsus as soon as she left.

-0—

Time was impossible to tell inside the windowless fortress of a room that Niwa had locked them away in. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto curled together with Sakura's head on Sasuke's chest and Naruto cuddling into Sakura's opposite side. After hours of practicing their jutsus and high levels of chakra exhaustion for Sakura, they decided to sleep. Yet, none could tell how long they had slept. They laid still, close to each other initially for comfort because Naruto thought that Sakura needed it and Sasuke did not want to be the only teammate left out, and they passed in between a haze of sleep and awake punctuated only by bizarre, stressful dreams. At some point, Niwa had stirred them in order to feed them a bland rabbit and vegetable stew and a large tin of water. Thick air permeated the room with a humid drowsiness and decaying scent tendrils of the stew. Some point after the stew, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura vaguely realized that they had to pee, but they each held it. When Niwa returned, they would ask about a bathroom.

At the sound of the door creaking open, the three genin jolted to their feet. Niwa entered. Her long hair was untied and cascaded down her back in a veil of impenetrable black silk. "Sasuke, Naruto…your contractors have arrived. Hide the tools your master gave you and come with me."

Naruto dug through the hay pile and found his syringe. "Niwa-sensei?"

"I'm not your sensei, kid."

"Niwa, do you have a bathroom?" Naruto's lips upturned into an awkward smile.

"Yes. No time for that. Your contractors are here. Now."

Naruto frowned. "But I've been holding it for hours!"

"Tough luck, kid. Either piss in the corner right now or hold it."

Sasuke scrunched his nose. "We sleep in this room. You better hold it, dobe."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "Fucking Uchiha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto. He reached into the hay pile and extracted the bone. As his thumbs ran across the hard, smooth surface, his eyes found Naruto again. He stared at Naruto, urging him to be careful. This wasn't a game anymore. The dobe had to be quiet. Professional. Sasuke fastened the bone to the outside of his leg using a strip of torn material from his original nin clothing and covered his leg with the sack-like garment he wore.

Naruto stared back at Sasuke. So the bastard wanted to compete, huh? Naruto glared and hurriedly tied his syringe to his leg in the same way that Sasuke had. He beat him by seconds and he grinned gloatingly at Sasuke.

Sakura bit her lip and glanced at her boys. "Good luck. Please be careful…Naruto." She knew Sasuke would be okay. If anything, he would get mad at her for urging him to be careful. Maybe chastise her with some bullshit about how he was so skilled that he didn't need to be careful. Either way, Sakura did not think Sasuke cared to hear her worries.

Naruto grinned and waved. "Of course, Sakura-chan! Good luck to you too."

The third teammate watched this exchange with a tight frown stretched across his pale lips.

Sakura stood hastily and grabbed both of the boys' hands into her own. "Good luck, Naruto…Sasuke." She closed her eyes and a brief look of concentration flitted across her features.

Sasuke could feel a vague disturbance around his body. He could feel Sakura's chakra against him. Just what was she doing?

"Come." Niwa turned and the two boys followed her out.

Naruto glanced to Sasuke and wondered what he was thinking. He had noticed the firm frown on the other boy's face. Was he afraid? Hell, Naruto knew that he himself was afraid. A bone and a syringe… Naruto ousted that strain of thought in order to craft up plots to see what lay behind the solemn, still doors that lined the hallway.

The dank, twisted hallway was silent aside from the rhythmic click of Niwa's heals and the nearly soundless steps of two sets of bare, calloused ninja feet. She led them out the metal side door that they had entered in through the previous day.

Outside, a new moon drowned the night in a blackness so intense it burned like liquid tar. Only torches from distant buildings flickered uncertainly and lit up the space where a lone armored wagon perched. Two feet long pointed spikes extended from the wheels, and a heavy black tarp obscured anything and anyone seated inside of the wagon. Three gaunt horses covered in raw ulcers and bite-mark patterned scabs were tied with thick leather reigns to the wagon. A man in a sweeping black cloak leaned against the wagon.

Sasuke recognized the man. Yori. He lowered his eyebrows and glared at the man as Yori approached Niwa.

"Good evening, Niwa-chan. Kenta sent this." He extended a letter to Niwa.

Talon-like hands snatched the letter. Niwa read furiously. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Kenta wants you to take the brat to the lab? Hmm. Fine. Just get them both back to me by dawn. I want to work them into my show." She crumpled the letter into her hands and stuffed it into her cleavage.

Yori nodded. "Of course, sweet Niwa."

His whisper sent chills down Naruto's spine. Yori stalked over and roughly gripped Sasuke and Naruto around the biceps. He brought them to the back of the wagon. He clapped his hands together once. The tarp slid open from the inside. Armored arms snatched Sasuke and Naruto and yanked them into the wagon.

Yori himself walked to the front of the wagon and took the reigns.

-0—

Inside the wagon, men cloaked in black like Yori lined two benches. They were armed with katanas. Sasuke and Naruto crashed onto the hard wood planks at the bottom of the inside of the wagon. One of the men stood up. He gripped Naruto roughly by the collar of his clothing. "Ay! This one's the little piggy!" He shook Naruto.

Sasuke tried to rise but was stopped when another man placed a foot on his neck. "And this is Yori's baby rat." Sasuke growled and tried to slap the man's foot away, but the appendage only dug further into Sasuke's neck. He grit his teeth. He couldn't reveal that he was a ninja. Not yet. He couldn't fail the mission. His first training session as a genin. But how could he let himself be demeaned so? Black eyes darted to Naruto.

One of the men slammed Naruto down into the ground. The wagon started and caused Naruto's head to crash against the floor harder than his assaulter had intended. The blond groaned and made eye contact with Sasuke. At least they were both being disrespected, Naruto supposed. At least, it wasn't just him. One of the men laughed as he seated himself on Naruto's back. "Ay boys! He's going to the lab. We gotta fatten him up, like a good little piggy. He's too skinny." Naruto half grinned. Food didn't sound too bad…at least. He didn't care if they embarrassed him if they fed him.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw some of the men hand a couple of syringes to the man on Naruto's back. He locked eyes with Naruto and shook his head at Naruto's grin.

Naruto's small smile faltered as he watched Sasuke. He glanced back over his shoulder as the man behind him hiked up the starched dress-like thing, as he had dubbed his garment, up so that it ended just under his ribcage and exposed his naked lower body to everyone in the room. Naruto's eyes widened as the man held four syringes and injected him at the base of his spine. He screamed. He didn't quite recall making the sound. The newly injected substances ripped through his body. Within a couple of seconds, he writhed against the ground in agony. His chakra levels were swiftly declining. Faster and faster. Laughing. All he could hear was laughing and men calling him "piggy" and "vessel." He could feel them stabbing him with more syringes in other places. His neck, butt, stomach, chest. He felt a syringe being rammed a syringe into his thigh. As the man removed the syringe, Naruto peed on the man's hand. He couldn't help it. It just hurt so bad. His face was red with shame. He vaguely heard the man curse at him before feeling a sharp kick to the ribs. The same man gripped him and shoved his face into his own urine. He laid his head placidly against the floor as his chakra evaporated. He wanted to feel angry, but with his rapidly diminishing chakra, he could barely muster anger. Dull, pained, blue eyes stared at Sasuke. "Sasuke-teme…"

Sasuke tried to rise to his feet, but the foot on his neck tightened. He could use ninja skills and save Naruto and jeopardize them both…but all of these men were armed. And Naruto did not look like he could fight. However, he could not see the syringe Kakashi gave Naruto despite Naruto being almost completely exposed. How? Then, he saw it. It was subtle. Barely visible. Just a tiny smudge in a reality where everything should have been flawless. He could still feel Sakura's chakra on him. A henge that hid their weapons. Sasuke would have smirked at Sakura's clever actions, however his glare burned as he watched the men abuse Naruto. When he finally saw the other boy's eyes, his own look blazed with indignation. How dare a ninja be so disrespected!? These people were civilians. Powerless. Useless. Sasuke knew that he could easily kill these men. One Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu and the whole wagon would go down. Easy. Sasuke did not know why he wanted to gain vengeance on the men for Naruto's sake. But he did. Naruto was his ally. Deadlast. Loser. And teammate. Like Sakura…whose henges had probably already saved both of them. She had protected her teammates. Would he? Sasuke growled as the wagon jolted to a halt and the man's foot on his neck forced more pressure down upon him. No, he could not take down these men right away. He needed to wait long enough in order to please his sensei and gain whatever power his sensei could give him. But when a week was up, oh, Sasuke was sure that he would take care of the men who had hurt Naruto so.

-0—

Niwa returned to Sakura. "Come, girl."

Sakura stood hastily. "When will they be back…my..my friends?" She hesitated to use the word "teammates" as she followed Niwa through the hallway. Anyone could hear them through the thin wood walls. The hallway was not soundproofed like the room Niwa had kept them in. Sakura's ears could already pick up the sounds of people talking in hushed tones in adjoining rooms. Sakura did not want anyone to suspect they were ninja. The less people knew, the better.

Niwa sighed. "Dawn the latest." She stopped in front of a whitewashed door. "Here. This is the bathroom. Piss, shit, bathe yourself. Do whatever. I'll be back in ten minutes to prepare you for your lesson today." Niwa spun on her heels and stalked down the hallway.

Sakura bit her lip before entering the room. It was indeed a bathroom. A large tub filled the center of the room. It was white and painted with little flowers. The tub was already filled with water and three pink cherry blossom petals floated innocently on the surface of the water. Sakura glanced around the room hurriedly. Her senses couldn't perceive anybody. She closed the whitewashed door behind her and disrobed.

-0—

Sasuke did not know where they had taken Naruto, and this bothered him. At least Sakura was back with Niwa. Niwa had a deal with Kakashi. Nothing too bad could happen to Sakura with Niwa, right? Sasuke shook his head. Why did he care? They were both weak and useless. Still, Sasuke could not deny that they would be his most valuable assets in pursuing a successful escape from this flea-bitten, infestation filled hell hole of a town.

The wagon had started again. The men were obviously Yori's and not Kenta's as none had left the wagon when Naruto was forced out. So maybe that was why they did not treat him as badly as they had treated Naruto. They didn't want to rough up boss's new pet, huh? Sasuke would remember that.

The wagon jerked to a second stop, and all of the men drew masks up to cover the lower portions of their faces. They slung the hoods of their cloaks up as well. The man who had placed his foot on Sasuke's neck finally retracted the offending foot. The men whispered to each other.

A low noise. A nearly silent whistle echoed through the men's whispers. All conversations stopped. The men jumped off of the back of the wagon one by one.

Alone, Sasuke stood and crept to the edge of the wagon and peered out at the scene.

The men had their katanas drawn. Yori stood at the center of their circle. "Bring me the child. Bring her alive for now. Kill any who get in the way." Yori whispered to his crowd of men. The men nodded and slinked into the blackness of the night. Sasuke could just make out their bodies as they surrounded a three story building the size of an inn.

Yori glanced back and saw Sasuke watching him from the opening in the wagon. "Rat…" The whisper almost died in the wind and barely reached Sasuke's ears.

Sasuke stood and walked over to Yori.

"Today, I'd like you to play cleanup. Follow the men. Wash the blood they spill. Slaughter the evidence. And when you find the girl…lie to her and bring her to my men. She'll surely fall for a pretty rat like you…"

"Who is she…the girl?" Sasuke asked.

"Nobody."

"Then why do you want her?"

Yori turned a hidden face towards Sasuke. The unspoken question hung in the air: _And why do you need to know, little rat?_

"I mean…how should I find her if I don't know anything about her?"

"Follow the trails and find the one they spare. Find the Kurosawa" he spat the name.

"Won't your men find her first?"

"Oh no…the little one won't come out for them, my rat…" A scream sounded from the building in front of Sasuke.

-0—

After ten minutes, Niwa returned to find Sakura fully dressed once again. "Stand." She commanded in her serpentine drawl.

Sakura stood. She kept her eyes forward as Niwa paced around her.

Niwa halted a foot in front of Sakura and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going to break the agreement a bit for you, sweetheart."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Niwa waved a hand dismissively. "Kunoichi…tell me pretty girl…how many of them are weak? How many of them are left in the dust by powerful males or expected to fill support roles? Your sensei was so eager when he wrote to me about those boys…but you…you, he dismissed. Tell me girl, are you a fighter?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. She clenched her fists. "I am as much of a fighter as Naruto or Sasuke. I may not look like much now, but I will be just as strong."

Niwa laughed. "Good girl. For you, we'll break the rules a bit." She sauntered around the tub with an effortless grace.

Green eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Niwa smirked. "First, I'll teach you how to dance."

"Huh?"

Niwa slipped out of her heels as she strutted up to Sakura. "First, is footwork." She rose to the balls of her feet and started to dance. She added arm movements as well. Arms and feet moved in long graceful sweeps. "Watch my feet girl."

Sakura watched as Niwa gracefully pirouetted. She kicked her foot out straight from her pirouetted position before bringing it back in and leaping closer to Sakura. She spun gracefully and enacted another pirouette. She brought her foot back and kicked Sakura squarely in the ribs.

Sakura grunted and flew back roughly at the impact. "Shit." She landed a couple feet back on her butt.

Niwa smirked. "Distraction, darling, is a useful battle skill. In a real battle, you will most likely feign clumsiness or weakness instead of dancing, but monitoring your movements and making every single move a plot is central to being a ninja. So come, child. Learn to dance. Make feigned clumsiness the perfect launching point for a powerful roundhouse kick."

-0—

Naruto remained barely awake when he felt a surge of new chakra flooding through his body. The sensation almost burned. It felt nothing like him at all. Something about it felt evil. However, it gave him the strength to open his eyes. He found himself on his back on a table. He felt the dark chakra spiraling around his stomach. He glanced down to find his skin slowly knitting itself back together. Naruto clutched his hands over his mouth. He almost vomited. Strange tiny bags containing a fine white powder dwelled just beneath his stomach. He did vomit this time. Off the side of the table. He was lucky he was alone. The bags were being stitched into his body. Oh, he finally understood. Uzumaki Naruto was being used as a vessel to traffic illegal substances.

A strange woman entered the room. "You…did they…stitch you up already?" The woman asked in a confused voice as she glanced down at the already healed Naruto in front of her.

"I…yes." Naruto lied. To hell with his sensei, Naruto knew he had to escape. But how? His normal chakra was nearly gone. Only the dark chakra remained.

-0—

Sasuke darted through the trees with grace. Somehow, he knew he had to make it to the little girl before the men did. More screams filled the night. He quickly scaled the building and hopped in through a window. He glanced around the dark room. He could barely see. Fuck, he had to see to find her. He stepped into the next room and stilled when he saw two bodies. A man and a woman. They lay together, embracing on a bed. Blood spurted from the gaping hole that caused their heads to snap back hanging on only by a thread of skin.

Sasuke stood still.

"Okaa-san…." A small, quiet voice cried in the distance.

Sasuke saw red.

-0—

An hour later, Sakura danced with Niwa with her eyes closed. Niwa silently urged the girl to meditate and close off her thoughts. Straining ears followed Niwa's movements as she tried to replicate them without sight or too much concentration. Her head hurt.

Niwa had said something about the spiritual half of chakra. Dancing while meditating. Increase your stamina and your spiritual connections. Sakura barely understood how anyone could focus on dancing while in a meditative stance. Still, she tried. She followed Niwa's movements into a low, sweeping backbend before bringing it up with a delicate upward kick that cascaded into a savage chakra enhanced jump kick.

When Sakura opened her eyes, it was because Niwa had grabbed her wrist and led her out of the bathroom and into an adjoining room. The room was quiet. Black metal grates lined the walls. Long red ribbons fell in between the grates and partially hid the holes in the grates. Men watched her from behind the grates.

Niwa smirked and walked to the center of the room. "Welcome, lovelies. Tonight's show begins with my youngest, perkiest new edition, Sakura." She grabbed the girl's wrist and spun her into the center of the room.

Men catcalled, and Sakura blushed.

Niwa raised an eyebrow at Sakura. "Do your job, Sakura. The one you have trained to do for years…"

Sakura shyly smiled at the men as she nodded at Niwa. Years… She spun the ribbon off of her leg and fanned it around her body as she twirled. Metal grates, she mused, would present an interesting challenge. Well, Sakura could craft a spectacle.


	7. Part I: The Forge, Chapter VI

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. I am not profiting off of this piece. **

**A/N: Hi! Finals are done and I'm not sick anymore so hopefully that means more frequent updates! In this chapter, the plot thickens a little. I hoped to create a bit of an ambiguous sense of right and wrong in this piece. Next chapter will include more interaction between all three of them. Thank you so much for your support! I really do enjoy every single comment, follow, and favorite that this story gets! Please continue to be amazing, and Let me know what you think about this chapter!**

**~Rox**

After the leers died down, the silence was deafening. Eyes stared at her. Waiting. The ground beneath her bare feet was earthen. A slow melody sliced through the still air and echoed hauntingly against the metal grates. Sakura arched a small, dainty foot and applied enough pressure to rise onto the ball of her foot. Her other leg nestled tightly against her chest, and her body curled around the limb, as if protecting it. She rotated slowly to the somber sound of a single xun.

-0—

He laid back against the table as cold fingers ran across the newly repaired flesh across his stomach. She poked at the raw, red skin, and the boy flinched. She asked no questions. Instead, she called over her shoulder. "Kenta-san?"

Kenta entered the room. "Yes?"

The woman gestured to Naruto. "The vessel is prepared. We can ship it out now. It will reach the capital by midnight if sent now."

It. The term caused bile to rise in the back of his throat. Always an it. His eyes harshened as memories of Konoha flooded through his brain. Memories of being pushed to the ground. He could almost hear the disdain dripping from the mask salesman's voice when the kitsune mask was thrown at his face. IT. Subhuman. The anger welled up in Naruto. He clenched his fists as the dark chakra within him swirled in excitement.

-0—

With a crescendo in the xun's melody, Sakura gradually straightened her back and pulled her raised leg downwards so that the arch of her foot rested against her other leg's upper thigh as she spun. With a tentative raise of the arm, she wove the red silk ribbon presented to her by Kakashi in an intricate circle above her head. Her back arched into the spin.

-0—

Red. Everything red. Dark, bright liquid scorching pathways down, down pale, putrefying flesh before seeping into the wooden floorboards beneath him. Sasuke stared at the bodies that were so familiar and yet utterly foreign. The embrace seemed fragile. Pointless. Tiny crying noises sounded not to far off. His eyes darted around the room, and supplied his brain with images far clearer and detailed than anything he had ever seen before. He located her in seconds. Standing above her, the Uchiha stared with vibrant red eyes down at the body of a small toddler with little buns of black hair tied in place by lilac ribbons. She glanced up at him, and tears streaked down her tanned face.

"Who are you!? Why did you kill okaa-san and otou-san!? Leave me alone! I'll kill you!" It sounded as if her vocal cords were ripping themselves apart as she screamed. The sound was bestial, loud, and powerless all at once. Anger and weakness intermixed into a desperate, pathetic growl.

Sasuke stared down at her silently. His mouth felt dry. He extended a hand to the girl.

She squirmed away from him. "I said go away! I'll kill you! I'm a Kurosawa! Don't think I can't do it! I can! I will kill you!" She held up a drenched katana that barely fit into her tiny hands. Red saturated the blade and dripped off the weapon and onto her face and body. The weight of the weapon caused her arm muscles to tremble. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

-0—

A rhythmic ding of the kagura suzu bells alerted Sakura to the presence of another dancer. She immediately opened her emerald eyes, kicked out her leg, and whipped out her ribbon to follow the arc of her leg in one simultaneous moment. Taiko drums joined the xun and the melody abruptly sped up. Sakura jumped onto both of her feet and swayed her hips outward, mimicking a seductive move she had practiced with Niwa. The ribbon wrapped around her arm, and she would send it out in dramatic spirals to accent the sway of her hips before reigning the ribbon back in and wrapping it around her arm. She sent the ribbon rippling out in front of her as she bent low and exposed black silk panties to the men seated behind the metal grates. That caused an uproar of jeers and catcalls. Emerald eyes met Niwa's, and Niwa tilted her head towards a drunk looking man to her left. Sakura's eyes locked on the man, and she smirked. So this one first.

She wrapped the ribbon around her body as she brought her feet together for a tight two-legged spin that ended with a delicate, balanced kick to the side. She arched her back, her head lolling behind her and facing Niwa again.

Niwa fanned her face with a bright red fan, but Sakura could detect a glint of metal lurking from behind the fan.

Sakura lifted her head and manipulated the ribbon around her body into an elegant, sweeping spiral that extended from the height of her extended arm down to her feet. More dings of kagura suzu bells alerted Sakura to the presence of even more dancers entering. Feet clasped the earth floor before she jumped into the air in a flawless split leap. Her ribbon splayed out in front of her in a dramatic arc. She landed in the center of the dancers and followed their sultry hip sways. She eyed her target. He was very drunk. It seemed that behind each individual metal grate was a private viewing room. So if she got into that room, she would be alone. Green eyes darted around. None of the patrons seemed to be paying attention to her target. Still, she had to make sure that that stayed the case.

Sakura spun her ribbon around her wrist and kept it wrapped around her forearm. Her legs wound together, and she fell to the floor slowly. She crouched to the ground and bent forward so that her face and stomach faced the ground. She undid her obi and unwound her kimono-esque top from her body. She brought the garment up and over her head while her body rested against the ground. Quickly, while her hands were hidden, she performed the genjutsu that she had learned from her scroll. It slowed her apparent movement. From there, she quickly cast a clone jutsu (not a shadow clone, the normal, illusion based type), and in quick succession cast Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu. Sakura disappeared into the earthen floor with her discarded kimono jacket covering the hole. Her clone, clad in only silk underwear and a tight strip of black cloth across small breasts, stood up and started to dance alongside the other women. Catcalls resounded from behind numerous metal grates as perverted eyes stared at the nearly nude body of the young girl. Niwa observed that the dancing Sakura did not cast a shadow upon the ground. She smirked and turned her eyes towards the patron she had indicated for Sakura to take out.

Sakura meanwhile tunneled through the Earth, beneath the metal grates, before arriving at her target. She grabbed his ankle and yanked him down into the Earth while she climbed out. She quickly gagged him with the ribbon that she still had wrapped around her arm.

Sakura raised a fist to the man's head and struck him at the precise point with precise enough pressure to render him unconscious. She glanced through the metal grates and made eye contact with Niwa. Niwa nodded, seemingly pleased. Sakura congratulated herself on having the chakra to pull off that sequence. A week ago, and she could not have done anything she had just done. With the man blocking her entrance to the hole with his head, she quickly draped the curtain to his private viewing room over his head and retreated out of the room. She pressed her back to the wall as she made her way down the dingy corridor. Long shadows and infrequent torches concealed her passage most of the way.

At a cross between corridors, she knelt low to the ground and peered out at the main viewing lounge. Niwa's poisonous laughter met her ears.

Sakura crouched against the wall as she listened to Niwa's conversation.

"Yes, I have heard. Kurosawa Yuuma is a foolish man. Too many hands would pay too much gold for his head here in Fuhai. Staying outside of the capital is suicide. He's probably already dead. Poor Tsubame-chan too. Pity, that woman would have made an enchanting addition to my collection with those rare purple eyes of hers" Niwa said.

A man snorted in response. "Tsubame? Eh? Maybe before she had that child and wrecked her pretty little body. Like any Kurosawa tyrant, the brat kicked and clawed it's way out, nearly murdering it's own mother and imitating the way it would later heartlessly drain us of all our goddamn harvest and money. Goddamn fuckers deserve to be burned and flayed alive. You heard about Emi, right? Couldn't feed her fucking babies and she had to choose which one she wanted to save and which one had to die."

Niwa laughed. "The Kurosawa take and take and take. But one day, if that day is not today, Fuhai will take back. The issue here is that it will open up a power vacuum and the gangs will fight to seize formal control of the city. We'll see which gangs win and if they become greedy and our new Kurosawas or if they protect us. That, however, will only be determined after, what I daresay will be a bloodbath for the city. If the capital intervenes, every last one of us should run."

-0—

"I didn't kill them." Sasuke spoke as he knelt down, eye-level to the girl.

"I don't believe you! Your eyes! They're red! You're a demon! You had to kill them!" Her screams came forth as whispered stabs. The girl had lost the remnants of her voice from screaming. The moon shone down on them from an open window. Dark, red chiffon curtains swayed in the wind.

Sasuke, for the longest time, had nothing to say. He watched her stance and her fierce determined eyes. Had he looked that fierce? He knew he had not. He cowered, and cried, and ran. This girl…she threatened him. For a moment, he was envious of her strength. But then he remembered that she was a civilian, Kurosawa whatever that meant, but civilian. He had the power to avenge and to strike down any enemy that threatened those he loved. This girl, feisty as she was, would not last a second against any ninja her enemies could employ.

"If you don't come with me, worse men will come and they will hurt you." Sasuke's eyes picked up details impeccably distinctly. He noticed the way her grip on the katana first tightened and then loosened. He could pick out individual specks of blood on the floor one hundred feet away, down in the hallway. He could see the shadows of approaching footsteps. The Sharingan. It had awakened. Two tomoes swirled in his eyes. Maybe that was the purpose behind his sensei sending him on this sick mission. He sighed and held out his hand to the girl. "My name is Sasuke. At the end of this all, I'll help you get your revenge against the men who killed your parents. Don't' tell these men about my eyes."

"R-revenge!? What?" She squeaked as several men entered the room.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and turned to face the men pouring into the room.

"Aye, looks like Yori's rat found the bitch" one of the large men spoke. He sauntered into the room swinging a bloody sword. "Your auntie sure can scream, sweetheart. Had to slit her throat to rid myself of the hideous noise."

The girl seethed and gripped the katana tighter. "You! Stay back! I'll cut you open like pigs!" Her scratchy, barely audible voice mustered all the rage it could.

The men laughed. "Fiery little cunt. Too bad it's going to be me cutting you open again and again while I bend you over a table with your pretty little noble ass in the air."

The men throughout the room howled. Though several of the men were visibly disgusted.

Sasuke shuddered at the man's statement. "Stop. Yori wanted her alive and well."

"Oh the fucking rat speaks, aye?" A man with a shaved head and only a slim ponytail marched over to Sasuke and stuck his face in the Uchiha's. "What you gonna fucking do to me, goddamn slave? Gonna cry to your master? Think pretty Niwa's gonna come smack me?" He spat in Sasuke's face.

Sasuke's jaw clenched and the muscles in his biceps twitched. Still, he did not move a muscle. "I will take her back to Yori. Anyone who tries to stop me will answer to him. If you injure me, my master will exact a price and Yori won't be too happy to pay that, now will he?" Sasuke wanted to fight these men. He wanted to bash their faces in and avenge the little girl's family. Yet, Sasuke had to complete his mission. He could not let his emotions cloud his actions as a ninja. Such foolery would cost him his life one day, and if that happened, he could never exact his own revenge. He walked over to the girl and grasped her hand in an impossibly cold grip. "Come on." He lightly tugged her towards the exit of the room.

The girl glanced up at him with wide purple eyes. "T-thank you. I-I'm Aiko. Kurosawa Aiko." She seemed proud of her family name, even in the aftermath of her parents' slaughter. Her pride made Sasuke grimace. The girl was too similar. This whole situation was too similar. It made his skin crawl and his blood boil.

Sasuke turned his cold black eyes towards her. "Don't thank me." As he returned to Yori, he wondered if he was submitting her to a far worse fate than the end of a sword.

-0—

Naruto experimented with chakra control techniques involving using this dark, mysterious chakra as he sat in the back of a wagon heading full speed towards the capital. He was alone in the back of the wagon. At the front of the wagon, two strange muscled men armed with spears talked in subdued voices against the constant thump of the horses. Controlling this dark chakra was proving difficult for Naruto. He stared impatiently at the tiny tears in the fabric of the wagon that his chakra had thus far been able to create. Using the chakra was difficult, and it seemed to almost have a mind of its own. Naruto clenched his fists and strained to control the chakra better and produce a gash in the fabric of the wagon at the precise spot that he had intended for the gash to be. The dark chakra instead made a huge gash above him. Naruto frowned. He doubted that he could use this chakra to escape anything at the moment. It was powerful, but it was very wild, even more unpredictable than Naruto's own normal chakra. He laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling of the wagon, still fighting to harness the power of the weird, immensely strong chakra within him.

The wagon screeched to a halt and Naruto sat up. He pressed his ear to the side of the wagon and listened.

"Yes, we are entering to see a doctor. My son is in the back. He's rather unwell. You can look at him if you would like?"

Another man sighed. The tent flap to the wagon was pulled back and a fully armored guard wearing a black facemask entered the wagon. The man walked up to Naruto and stared down at him. "This one is sick?" He prodded Naruto with his foot, and Naruto glared back at the man but said nothing. There was something terribly familiar about this man.

The guard closed the tent flap behind him and bent down low over Naruto. He whispered in the blond boy's ear "Naruto…don't escape tonight. Return to Sasuke and Sakura. You three have a mission to benefit the Leaf. Figure it out." The guard stood.

Naruto's eyes widened and darted to the man. "Kakashi-sensei?"

The man raised a finger to his masked lips and stepped out of the wagon.

Naruto stared at the space that his sensei had just vacated. He…had a mission? All of this torture and understanding this weird chakra, it was art of a mission now? When had the Fuhai ordeal been elevated from a training exercise to a mission and why? Why did Kakashi trust them to figure out a mission when they had just become genin a couple of days ago. Naruto's head hurt from trying to figure out what was going on and why. He pressed his ear back to the side of the wagon in time to hear his sensei's voice.

"Your son does not have proper identification. Legally, I cannot let him inside city walls. But, you are right. He is weak. Possibly dying. I will let you in, but if anyone else asks for identification and you cannot provide identification for your son, you will be thrown in prison and you are not to mention that I let you into the city."

Another male voice sounded. "Thank you so much, sir. I will honor my oath to you and not tell anyone that I may be compromised by that you were the one that so greatly aided my son and our family. Bless you, sir." A jingle of a coin purse sounded as if money was being exchanged.

The sound of metal creaking overwhelmed Naruto's ears for a moment. When the creaking ceased, the wagon started to move again. Naruto sat up and contemplated what he should do. He wanted to run, but Kakashi had told him to return to Sasuke and Sakura for a mission. Would these people return him to Niwa, or did they have something else planned for him? Would he have to return to Sasuke and Sakura via escape?

-0—

Sakura's heart thundered as she knelt in the shadows. Fuhai was about to be the site of a revolution? Her sensei had sent the three of them unknowingly into a revolution? They had to escape early. Within a week, Fuhai could be reduced to dust. She edged back into the shadows away from the main viewing room as she collected her thoughts. A loud ring of applause alerted her that the dance was over. Fuck. She had to get back in their with her real body and take her kimono. The clone could not pick up real objects. She also had to seal up the hole she had created. She glanced out at the main viewing room in time to see Niwa entering the dancing ring. Niwa soon exited the dancing ring holding a kimono jacket while smiling and talking to the Sakura clone. Niwa laughed as she led the clone towards the hallway in which Sakura hid. Niwa slightly entered the shadows. Sakura hurriedly released the clone and stood to stand at Niwa's side.

Niwa handed the kimono jacket to Sakura who hastily donned it. "Excellent show, my blossom. Next time, however, make sure that you do not require my aid." She turned her dark eyes veiled by heavy lashes towards Sakura. "For the rest of the night, could you go to the town's temple and meditate. You seem distressed. Perhaps some guidance from the spirits would invigorate you."

Sakura nodded. "Hai, Niwa-sama. One question, though."

Niwa turned to Sakura with a frown stretched across her red lips. "What?"

"The um…the um…impact my dancing had on the floor…I believe that I stepped too heavily. Can it be fixed?" Sakura thought of the hole her jutsu had made in the floor.

Niwa smirked. "Oh, do not worry. The floor is not injured at all. I have already checked. Though next time, if you could dance lighter, that would be much appreciated. Off to the temple, though girl. I have patrons to attend to."

Sakura bowed to Niwa and retreated from the room. She hastily made her way through the hallways, attempting to find an exit to Niwa's brothel. She found the exit and entered into the cold, night air of Fuhai. Sakura shakily stepped out onto the dirt, caught the eye of a sleazy man sharpening an axe, and wished she had brought a weapon with her. Nevertheless, she followed Niwa's orders and headed towards the temple.

The building was as decrepit and filthy as the rest of the town. Instead of a temple, the size of the building was more akin to a small family shrine. Sakura had been able to locate the building by following the directions of a tavern wench she had hastily befriended. Sakura knelt in front of the ancient tablets and statues within the shrine. She was unsure why Niwa had sent her to the temple, and at the moment she could only ascertain that it had something to do with meditating to enhance the spiritual component of her chakra. She lit a stick of incense and bowed before the statues and effigies. Silence overwhelmed her as the night continued. Upon the caw of a crow, she opened her eyes and glanced at the tablets that glittered in the dark. She frowned as she noticed a strange marking on one of the stones in the back of the temple. She rose and walked over to the tablet. In the corner, a strange symbol that Sakura had never seen before was etched into the tablet. She ran her hand across the symbol and memorized its edges with the pad of her fingers. Was this what Niwa had sent her to the temple for? Sakura glanced around cautiously. Everything else seemed perfectly in place. Dirty, old, and typical. But the symbol? Sakura frowned. She reached into a hidden pocket of her kimono jacket and extracted the purple mascara that Kakashi had given her. She bent in front of the tablet as she opened the mascara. Meticulously struggling to keep lines perfectly accurate and proportional to the ones on the tablet, Sakura drew the symbol upon her arm using the mascara. When she would mess up, she would scratch out the symbol and work on replicating it again at another location on her arm. Finally, after eight attempts, she had a perfect replica. Maybe she was paranoid, and maybe she was a perfectionist, but both of those qualities made her a ninja.

-0—

When Sakura returned to Niwa's brothel, Niwa met her in the hallway near the side entrance. "Niwa!" Sakura started. "I believe I found—"

Niwa placed a manicured hand over Sakura's lips. "Not now. Tomorrow. Now, your boys are back." She extended her hand down towards the room that she had kept them in the previous night. "I believe…they wish to speak to you…"

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke and Naruto were back? Were they okay? She sprinted towards the room that she had spent the night in and wrenched the door open.

Emerald eyes darted first to Naruto who lay naked in a bloody heap next to a pile of hay. Sakura ran over to him. "Naruto!"

An azure eye opened. "Hey, Sakura-chan." He cast her a weary smile.

"What happened?" She glanced to the blood on his stomach.

Naruto coughed. He did not exactly want to tell her that they cut him open like a pig and stuffed him full of drugs, took him to the capital, ripped him back open and took their drugs out. He did not want to tell her about the dark energy within him either. He glanced towards Sasuke, praying that the other boy did not tell Sakura about his humiliation in the wagon earlier that night.

Surprisingly, Sasuke stared away from the two at a wall opposite of him. If Naruto focused hard enough, he swore he could make out Sasuke's body rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

Naruto turned his eyes to Sakura. "Drug trafficking. But that's not important. I met with Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at Naruto and Sakura.

"What?" Sakura asked.

Naruto grinned slightly. "He told me that to tell you guys that we have a mission now. We just have to figure out what we're supposed to do…"

Sakura bit her lip. "I have an idea of what it is about." The boys focused their eyes on her "…this place…the traditional leaders of this village might have been assassinated tonight. I heard gossip that there could be some sort of revolution but that the revolution just might collapse the town."

"How did you know that?" Sasuke asked. His voice was heavy and hoarse.

Sakura glanced up to him and analyzed the surprised and dark expression in his eyes. "I heard Niwa talking about it with one of her patrons. Why? Did you know?"

Sasuke glanced down at his hands. "Yeah…"

"Sasuke-kun…" She flinched at having reverted back to calling him that. "How did you find out?"

Sasuke rose to his feet and walked over to the group. The starched white garment he wore was covered in blood. "I was there…"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Really? What did you see?"

Sasuke's eyes took on a wild, hunted look. "A girl. The only one left." He no longer seemed present in the room. "Parents dead in front of me. The whole clan…"

Naruto's eyes widened and he sat up. He gripped Sasuke's shoulder strongly.

The dark haired boy turned a detached gaze to Naruto.

Naruto squeezed Sasuke's shoulder tightly. "Don't worry. You'll make it right one day. You gotta, and I know that."

Sasuke said nothing snarky to Naruto about moving his hand. Instead, he let Naruto comfort him. His eyes fell to the floor as he mesmerized the floorboards.

Sakura stood shakily. Were they talking about the Kurosawa or the Uchiha? She never really understood. Yes, her parents had told her about the massacre, but she was a child. She barely knew what any of it meant. It horrified her. He horrified her. His eyes were either miserable, insane, or determined. She thought back to the discussion she had heard about the Kurosawa. Sasuke was acting like they were the righteous ones slayed unjustly by cruel villagers. Yet, Sakura had heard about their oppressive regime. She was slowly learning that there was no right or wrong in this situation. Each end felt a pull, a pang, and suffering. Yet, Sakura knew that she could not tell Sasuke that the Kurosawa, through tyranny, may have asked for their slaughter. He would think that she was justifying the Uchiha massacre, which…she wasn't. Yet, he was obsessed with his family's fate. Yet, Naruto was comforting Sasuke, and Sakura knew that Sasuke was broken. She would try her best to make him feel happy. Sad, crazy Sasuke probably needed some kind of affection and not the kind she had once fantasized about giving him. Sakura sat down next to Sasuke on the opposite side from the shoulder that Naruto was holding. She reached out tentatively towards Sasuke and touched his arm. "Naruto is right. You'll get strong enough. Everyone believes in you. Naruto and I won't let you fail."

He turned his dark eyes towards her. He blinked at her as he observed her long pink hair as it fell over her face. Her eyelashes were dark purple from mascara and her lips were painted red.

Her lips pulled into a small close-mouthed smile, but Sasuke could see that the smile was forced. Did she not believe in him? Or was she forcing herself to be positive for him and for Naruto?

He returned his gaze to Naruto. He could tell that Naruto at least whole-heartedly believed in him.

Niwa brought them steamed rice balls, onigiri, and tea for dinner and left. The genin discussed their nights. Naruto and Sasuke both left out the wagon incident, Sasuke provided minimal details about his encounter with the Kurosawa massacre, and Sakura, to the embarrassment of the boys, fully encountered her story of learning how to dance seductively. She did not however tell the boys about what her new ninja training entailed or of the marking she found on the grave. She trusted Naruto…but Sasuke…something about him still seemed like a ticking time bomb.

Around dawn, the three of them lay on the ground drifting off to sleep with Sakura cuddled between the two boys.


End file.
